You Never Know
by Pannalid
Summary: Complete! What would happen if Dewey left, bandmates started quitting, all while the kids are at the height of hormonal rage? Summer's ready to pull her hair out, and things still aren't working with Zack... FreddyMarta & ZackSummer, PG-13 for language.
1. A Summer Reflection

**Note:** Chapter 1 edited! (July 18 04)

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**Chapter 1 - A Summer Reflection**

Ring, ring. Ring ring. Summer heard the band cell phone ringing, and automatically reached to pick it up. "Summer Hathaway speaking."

"Tink, are you always such a tightwad on the phone?" A laughed crept across Summer's face - it was Dewey. He kept talking. "How's your summer been so far? Talked to the band lately?"

"It's been okay. I talked to Zack and Lawrence today, it's confirmed that we're getting together tomorrow." Summer heard Dewey sigh. "So it's settled now, right?" He asked. "I need to talk to you guys anyway, I have a little bulletin to bring up."

The tone of Dewey's voice was neither familiar nor reassuring, but Summer realized it wasn't the time to ask questions. "You bet, Dewey. Usual place, around 3:00, 'kay? See ya on the flip flop!"

Dewey laughed at the comment. "Lateeer!"

Summer sighed as she put the phone back down and fell back onto her bed. She wasn't sure why, but she really didn't want tomorrow to come anymore, not after that phone call. And it wasn't like she needed the extra worries: the fifteen-year-old had enough on her plate already.

These days it seemed like everyone in the band had other things to do. It had been torture to set a date for their first practise session of August, seeing as Zack had gone to visit his grandparents in Michigan, Lawrence was getting ready for some sort of summer camp, and Summer herself was in the middle of an extra-credit summer school program. _And everyone has _other _things on their minds as well_, Summer thought sarcastically.

The band had been together for five years now, and all that time together, as well as hitting puberty meant raging hormones throughout the eight chore characters in School of Rock. It was common knowledge that Katie liked Freddy, even though Summer was sure that Freddy had liked Marta for a while now. Everyone knew that Lawrence had worshipped Summer since the sixth grade, which was cute, Summer had to admit, but she had it in for someone else.

Zack Mooneyham was absolutely perfect in every way to Summer. He had the cutest hair, and he was an awesome guitarist without being bigheaded like Dewey. He was quiet, but when he did speak up, he was the funniest guy in the room. He was the only one that didn't routinely blow up at Summer for her insanely controlling ways, even though he did make fun of it from time to time. But Summer didn't really care - she was amazed that he even knew who she was, even if they had known each other since Kindergarten.

Zack was even the reason for Summer's immature distaste for their classmate, Eleni. It was so apparent to her that Zack loved the blonde-haired girl, as he always laughed at her lame "I'm part of the band - I made up the name!" line. _Like, how is that funny?_ Summer felt like pulling her hair out as she thought about it.

Summer couldn't blame Zack though - Eleni was gorgeous. She had always been pretty, but at fifteen, was now blossoming into a blonde bombshell. _A blonde BIMBO, more like…_ It always helped to somehow make it seem as though it was all Eleni's fault…

Only one person knew of Summer's crush: her best, best friend Marta Hale. After hating each other up until Dewey showed up, they grew more comfortable with each other, and the friendship was cemented when they turned twelve: it turned out Summer wasn't the only one not fond of Eleni. Marta was absolutely set on the fact that the blonde had it in for Freddy, the love of Marta's life. Summer and Marta would spend hours upon hours on the phone, not exactly listening to each other, but just venting on how much Eleni didn't deserve either of the two boys.

Marta's so blind… It was so obvious to Summer that Freddy absolutely adored her friend, and seeing as Marta liked him back, she thought things would work their way out. _But no… she's got to make things difficult._ Summer rolled her eyes at how oblivious to Freddy's inexperienced flirting techniques Marta was. And to boot, Marta was always accusing Summer of just "trying to be nice" when she would insist that the two were meant for each other.

She's too lucky for her own good: a great voice, awesome hair, a --

"Summer, phone!" The raven-haired girl's thoughts were interrupted by her father's call up the stairs. She was usually a telephone hound, and it was a household joke that the cordless was surgically attached to her hip, but once she got into her thoughts, she was out of it.

"Summer! Pick it up!" The call came again as Summer picked up the phone, hoping it was someone she could let loose on.

Alas, it was Katie. "Hey Tink! How's it hangin'?"

"Oh, you know…" Summer didn't finish her thought, which resulted in a short awkward pause in the conversation. Summer and the band's bassist had never been all that close.

"Oh, well… That's cool… Uh, well, I was just calling to see if you talked to Freddy to make sure about tomorrow… 'Cause, you know, it would be hard to rock without our drummer, right?" Katie finished hastily.

It was all Summer could do not to laugh at Katie's extreme obviousness. It seemed to Summer that sometimes, it was just so apparent that the group was a bunch of immature fifteen-year-olds. "Yes, don't worry, I talked to him. Make sure you're at the HQ at 3:00, or else we'll start without you. Punctuation continues into the summer, you know."

"I know, I know, I get it. See you later."

Summer shook her head as she, once again, put down the phone._ I hope I'm not that obvious. _If there was one thing Summer hated, it was giggly ditzes. She detested when girls sat there, drooling over a guy right in front of their face. She tried to make sure that, whenever she could remember, she was just as harsh with Zack as the rest of the group.

Summer got up and made her way across her impeccably organized room to her desk, where her summer school homework lay, waiting to be finished. She grabbed her Science textbook, and opened it up to start studying. Instinctively, Summer checked no one was around, and turned on her CD player. Immediately, Britney Spears started blaring. _The band would KILL me… _The idea of rebelling against the band's unwritten code of only listening to what Dewey suggested sent a shiver up her spine.

Summer's eyes drifted off of her work, and on to the picture of a Doberman hound on her monthly calendar. _Zack has a Doberman… He loves her… _Summer's eyes widened at the stupidity of her thoughts. _Good God, anything to get away from homework, eh, Summer…_ She found it helped to blame her fuzzy thoughts about Zack on other things, even though she knew the truth.

To keep her mind off things, Summer kept her eyes moving around the room, where they lay to rest on her Ibook laptop she got from the band for her last birthday. She struggled with her morals for about 5 seconds, and then quickly got up and away from her homework, and sat in front of her computer.

Summer was a real computer nut. Not a techie, though; she had absolutely no idea how to tear one apart and build it up again, or anything like that. She just loved being on the computer, checking email, talking with the band on Instant Messenger, and on and on. The idea of not being face-to-face with the people she was talking to made her a lot more comfortable with herself. She would never lie, or anything stupid… She would just be herself.

Summer logged onto Messenger, but no one was on. She proceeded, then, to check her email. In her inbox was a forward from Marta, a practice schedule from Dewey… and an email from Zack.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…Summer didn't know whether to click it, or just stare at it. She had never received an email from Zack that wasn't a forward, and this one was definitely _not_ a forward. The subject read "another plan for tomorrow," which made Summer's heart beat even faster. Almost dying from anticipation, she shut her eyes, clicked on the email, and read.

Hey gyus, its zack here. i was tihnking that maybe after practiz tomorow we cud all go and catch a movie or sumthin. my mom said she cud pick us up and maybe u cud all cum over for dinner or sumthin. theres a theater rite by deweys place so we cud probably just walk over there afer practiz. ummm so ya gimme a shout tonite or just talk to me tomorrow and we can see hoo can go. Ttyl

zack attack

Summer was finding it hard to breathe. Not only had he sent _her_, Summer Hathaway, an email (even if it had been addressed to all the other kids in the band as well), he had invited her to a _movie_. A real movie, where it was dark, and you shared a popcorn and a pop with someone. She had barely wrapped her head around the whole idea when she found herself calling down to her mom.

"MOMMY! After practice tomorrow, can I go to a movie with the band, and then dinner at one of their houses?"

"Whose house is dinner at?" Was the response.

"Zack's. Please?"

"'Kay, sure. Call him and find out when I should pick you up."

"Thanks mom!" But as ecstatic as Summer was at that very second, she felt as though her stomach had plummeted into her toes. Talking to Zack about the band was one thing, but to call him about something totally unrelated kind of scared the raven-haired girl.

Nevertheless, she told herself she had to do it, picked up the cordless, and dialled Zack's number, which she knew off by heart.

Riiiiiiing…Riiiiiiing… Riiiiiiing… "Hello?"

Summer found her voice. "Hello, is Zack there please?"

"Hey, Tinkerbell, it's me." Summer almost died as she realized she was talking to Zack way before she was ready. She had been anticipating those couple seconds where whoever picked up the phone had to go and find him. "Hey, Zack, how are things?"

"Oh, you know, they're okay. You?"

The forced conversation was killing Summer. "Pretty good. Kind of busy though, with all the extra school stuff."

"Oh, no joke, eh? School, the band, friends, you must be busy!"

Summer's heart hitched in her throat. Was Zack Mooneyham actually making an observation on her life? It seemed as though he actually cared about what was happening to her!

"Oh, well, not busy enough to miss the movie and dinner tomorrow! What time should my mom pick me up from your house?" Summer hoped she hadn't sounded too excited.

"Awesome, I'm glad this is working out! I'm not sure when we'll be done though, I was thinking we could all hang after supper for a while. Maybe you could just call your mom when you're ready?"

"Sounds awesome, Zack…" Summer felt as if she was a puddle of fifteen-year-old goo collecting on her bedroom floor, and she was sure her voice showed that, but at this point, she couldn't care less. "I'll see you tomorrow, then, 3:00?"

"You bet. See ya, Tinkerbell."

Summer didn't want to hang up the phone, but she knew that she was being absolutely ridiculous. She hung it up, dropped it onto the floor, and practically fainted onto her computer chair. At that exact moment, however, Marta had logged onto instant messenger, and the pair started talking instantly.

Tink _says: hey!_

BlOnDiE _says: hey girl wazzap?_

Tink _says: not much, u?_

BlOnDiE _says: o same_

Tink _says: omg marta did u get the email?_

BlOnDiE _says: I havent checked it yet y?_

Summer shook her head at the computer and started typing again frantically.

Tink _says: no time for it now, be at my house in 10 min pleeeeeeze?????_

Summer could have bitten her lower lip off waiting for Marta's response.

BlOnDiE _says: how bout 5?_

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**A/N** - I hope that was okay, it's only the first chapter so it's kind of boring, just really introducing Summer's character. It'll get better I promise. Please review; is it a good length, shorter? Longer? Thanks!!


	2. A Tried Tale

**Note: **Chapter 2 edited! (July 18 04)

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**Chapter 2 - A Tried Tale**

Summer logged off of her computer and jumped onto her bed - it would only be a few minutes now until she could absolutely explode with someone that would completely understand her.

She put her head onto her pillow and scanned the room with her eyes, this time, laying them on the framed picture on her bedside table. A smile creeping across her face, Summer picked the photo up.

It was a picture of School of Rock, taken a couple months ago by some random guy Freddy had asked walking down the street. It was such a spontaneous picture, taken for absolutely no reason. They had just finished practise, and were going to go grab some hot chocolate at Dewey's favourite place at the end of his street.

Summer smiled yet again as her eyes travelled from kid to kid in the picture.

There was Lawrence Tsai, with his cute, little polite smile, standing on the edge of the picture, as he always had. His hair was still parted and gelled as neatly as it always had been, but his personality had changed a little more than his hair style. Lawrence was a lot more open to the kids in the band, and it turned out that he was a pretty funny guy. While he was still pretty shy in school, at band practices he was always putting in his ideas and comments. It was really easy to talk to Lawrence because he always listened, and you never got the idea that he was too busy for you.

Lately a couple of the band members had been telling Summer that Lawrence liked her, and Summer herself didn't doubt it. She and Lawrence were awfully close, and if Marta wasn't available, Lawrence was always the next one Summer would call. She smiled as she thought about all the times her and the pianist spent multiple hours on the phone venting their trivial issues.

Standing next to Lawrence was Summer herself. Looking at herself, she realized she hadn't changed much aesthetically. She certainly didn't look 10 anymore, but her facial features were essentially the same: her lips were still ruby red, her eyes brown, and hair jet black. The picture had been taken the week after Summer had gotten her braces. She ran her tongue over the metal in her mouth, and kind of laughed at herself, as she remembered her elastics were currently black and red. _Zack's favourite colours…_ Summer realized she was hopeless, but she kind of liked it.

To Summer's great amusement, beside her in the picture was Zack himself. _Zack has changed a lot_, Summer thought to herself. His hair was no longer combed over to the side, or short for that matter. Zack's dark brown hair currently met his eyelashes, which reminded Summer of how she would secretly swoon whenever Zack would toss his head to get the hair out of his eyes. He had gotten his braces in the sixth and seventh grades, so his teeth were practically perfect.

Zack was a lot more outgoing than he had been back when they had met Dewey, _which still doesn't say much_, thought Summer. He had been super-quiet up until grade 6, and he still was, for that matter. But now, he actually would speak up when he had something to say, instead of other people prying it out of him. Even still, he was the quietest member of the band. _Which is SO cute…_

Beside Zack was the band's own Freddy Jones, jumping and making a trademark hilarious face. Summer could see his drumsticks, which he carried everywhere, sticking out of his short's pocket. _Freddy hasn't changed much either, just a bit more mature now, I guess_, thought Summer. He was still rambunctious and the self-proclaimed "class clown," but his jokes were a little bit more mature.

And he's not such an ass to girls anymore, thought Summer with a snort. Quite the contrary - it seemed Freddy had realized what a treasure the female race was, and tried to get as close to them as he could. While everyone would agree that Freddy was the player of the group, it always amused Summer that he had only been with a couple of girls in the past. His antics, while he thought they were incredibly mature and seductive, mainly made girls laugh in his face. _Marta loves it, she can't stand to see him with other girls…_ Summer thought of her jealous friend, and how she would rather see him suffer than be with someone else…

Summer's eyes then travelled to the next person in the picture: Dewey Finn. Summer and the band absolutely adored Dewey, but she didn't know if they could've said that at the end of the fifth grade. While he had been pretending to be their substitute teacher, he was the best. But once the class found out he was a fraud, it took a while to figure out if they trusted him, even if they had picked him up and performed in Battle of the Bands the next day. They realized, though, that he had never meant to betray anyone, and so the band stayed together, all because of him.

He was still as weird and out there as he had been back when they were ten..._ But what can we say? He brought us together!_ Summer could help but think of the fact that the group would never be as close, or a band for that matter, if it hadn't have been for "Mr. S."

Next to Dewey was Katie Brown, the bassist of the band. _She's probably changed the most out of all of us,_ thought Summer. Indeed, Katie had not only changed her appearance, as her hair now had more colours than the Care Bear clan and she lived and died by the eyeliner and mascara it seemed, but the girl had really came out of her shell. When the group was ten-years-old, Katie had been the loner of the class, sitting by herself and not bugging anybody. Five years later, though, she was much louder and expressive. She still didn't annoy anybody, _on the contrary, she's really nice_, thought Summer, and people respected her opinions completely.

Katie was the bombshell of the group, which Summer could respect, and she wasn't a _total_ blonde. Even with all the make-up and hair colour, she was a real natural beauty. _Unfortunately for her, though, boys don't seem to like that_, Summer thought with a sneer, as she remembered the apparent fixation with Eleni, who acted more fake than canned meat. Even still, though, Katie and Summer had never been that close.

Next in the picture, smiling her pretty smile, was Marta. Marta had never been afraid to speak her opinion, and she was usually crystal-clear with how she thought. This wasn't annoying, however, as she usually brought it across with humour and a good amount of sarcasm. _How can I not love her?_ smiled Summer, as she remembered exactly why Marta's hair wasn't its natural blonde anymore.

Summer recalled that day back when the pair was twelve-years-old, when they realized that they both disliked Eleni. Together, they realized, however stupidly, that the root of Eleni's problem was that she was blonde! Within the next week, Summer and Marta went out and picked out a natural shade of brown to die Marta's hair at the drugstore, and the former blonde had been a brunette ever since.

Alicia was next up in the picture. _She's a handful, that one_, thought Summer with a laugh, as she thought of Alicia's never-ending attitude. Even back in grade five, when they had first met Dewey, Alicia had never been afraid of dishing out what she thought was deserved. Now, at fifteen, not only was she full of attitude, but she had such a potty mouth that Summer felt like washing it out with soap once in a while, even if it did make her laugh endlessly. Marta had always said, though, that Alicia's attitude would get her in huge trouble…

Alicia looked basically the same, except she had replaced her glasses with contacts, and her teeth were now braces-free. She seemed to have a love-affair with lip gloss, and was never seen without shiny eye shadow. _She's scary in the morning_, Summer recalled, as she remembered an all-girl sleepover where Alicia hadn't taken off her make-up, and woke up the next morning with a completely silver face.

The smile on Summer's face fell, however, once she saw who Alicia was next to in the picture. Tomika Hassan was standing there, beaming her beautiful smile, holding on tightly to Alicia. Summer had to hold back tears as she remembered the day about a week after the picture was taken, and the bad news that came with it…

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"Umm, guys, I have to tell you something." Tomika interrupted her own vocal solo at band practise with an anxious look on her face.

No one acted annoyed, as they saw the nervousness on Tomika's features. "What's up, Turkey Sub?" Dewey asked carefully.

Tomika sighed, and looked up at the ceiling, trying to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. "I just thought it would be good of me to tell you that you should start auditioning another singer."

"What are you talking about, Tom? Are you quitting? I don't get it!" Katie looked at Tomika expectantly with a shared look of anxiousness beginning to creep across her features.

"Guys… I - I'm… I'm moving to Oregon." Eight gaping mouths hung open at the bomb laid by the band's best singer, the kids and Dewey hardly daring to believe it.

"That's not funny, Tomika…" Dewey started.

"You think I'd joke about something as serious as this?!" Tomika let the tears flow freely now. "My parents are getting a divorce. I'm going to live with my mom, and she's moving across the country to live with my grandma. And there's no way I'm staying with my dad."

The band didn't press on the matter, knowing things were a little rough between Tomika's parents.

"Tom… We love you!" Summer heard herself speak up, as she proclaimed the words that the rest of the band members were thinking. From there, the whole band surrounded Tomika in a blur of hugs and tears, boys included.

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Summer recalled the day about a week and a half after that, when the band accompanied Tomika and her mom the airport. It had been a day full of happy memories and tears, and when they saw Tomika off for the last time, the boys' faces were just as tearstained as the girls'.

And they still didn't have a replacement, to boot. _How do you replace Tomika Hassan?! _thought Summer incredulously.

"You _do_ love that picture, don't you?" Summer jumped as she heard Marta's voice come from right behind her. "I told you five minutes, and you go and get lost in your thoughts! Geez…"

Summer laughed at her friends fake anger and threw a pillow at her. Marta didn't seem ready for fun and games, however, as a serious look took over the mirth in her eyes.

"So. What's up? Why couldn't I read my email and had to come over right away?"

Summer's eyes widened as she remembered what she had read five minutes ago. "Man, it's a good thing you only live down the street, I don't know if I could've handled you not being able to come over." Summer proceeded to explain every detail of Zack's email and the phone call, ending with Summer and Marta's own Messenger conversation. "And that's when I told you to come over. God, Marta, what do I _wear_?!"

Marta's eyes had gradually grown larger and larger throughout the explanation, and couldn't help but let out a small squeal once Summer was done talking. "Summer, this is HUGE. Do you realize this could be your chance? A dark movie, then dinner at _his_ house? We _need_ to find you something to wear. Open your closet."

Summer smirked at her best friend's complete and utter understanding of how serious this situation was, and immediately threw open her elaborate walk-in closet.

The pair spent the next hour and half tearing the closet apart, creating outfits and contemplating some of Marta's own clothes, as the girls were both incredibly tiny and could fit into each other's garments easily.

After another hour, plus dinner, of hard work, Marta sighed and stood up. "Okay. I vote for the pink golf shirt with the black jeans."

Summer rolled her eyes. "Marta, that's way too dressy, don't you think?"

"Yes, yes I do. That's why I'm suggesting it." It was Marta's turn to roll her eyes. "Trust me, Summer, you'll look amazing in this!"

Summer reluctantly gave in. "If you say so… I'm telling you, man, if he hates me after tomorrow, it's your head!"

Marta shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, that's how it always is…" The brunette's eyes suddenly grew to the size of saucers. "Oh God, Summer, what if Zack invited _Eleni?!"_

Summer shrieked at the idea. "She'll be _all over_ Zack!"

Marta scowled. "Not Zack _-_ _Freddy_! She LOVES him. Oh, God, why is she even _alive_?"

Summer wasn't even listening. "If Zack invited Eleni, would that mean that he likes her? Oh God, of course he likes her, who DOESN'T like her?"

It was apparent that Marta wasn't listening to Summer, either. "…and then they'll go into a corner and get all cozy… Ooooooh, I hate her, Tink, I _hate_ her!"

"Something we can agree on, finally…" Summer's eyes narrowed. "Well, we'll just have to watch her tomorrow. I mean, she's all hair, nothing between the ears. She can't be smart enough to actually sabotage either of us, right?"

Marta answered, but didn't look too sure. "Totally, Summer… Totally…"

"And…" Summer tried to reassure herself, "we still have band practises with the guys, right? I mean, she can't go to those, it's against band policy!"

"You're totally right." Marta seemed a bit more sure of things. "It's all good, you're right. I hope." She shook her head as if to clear all the insecurities away. "Whatev, you know, Tink? I'll see you tomorrow, I'm heading home. I need to get _some _sleep."

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As Summer waved to Marta from her doorstep, she couldn't help but believe that all the excuses the pair had tried to make upstairs in her room were just that: excuses. _I guess we'll see tomorrow, won't we?_

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**A/N** - Hopefully that was okay, it was another boring chapter, a bit of an introduction to all the characters this time… Please R&R!!!


	3. A Slight Problem

**Note:** chapter 3 edited! (July 26 04)

**Warning -** foul language **BEGINS **in this chapter!

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**Chapter 3 - A Slight Problem**

"Summer, you missed Marta's call, she'll be here in ten minutes so you guys can leave!"

Summer almost died when she heard her dad's message - she had missed Marta's call because she had been in the shower, and now only had ten minutes to make herself look half presentable before leaving for practise.

Luckily, for Summer's sake, she laid her clothes out before she got in the shower, so her complete outfit that she had concocted with Marta, right down to the silver studded earrings, was laying neatly on her bed and dresser. After a whole twenty seconds of getting dressed, plus another seven minutes in the bathroom, Summer was ready to go.

Once Marta arrived at the door, impeccably dressed for the occasion in a blue tank top and a jean skirt, the pair set off on the fifteen minute walk to Dewey's apartment, which doubled as the School of Rock headquarters. The walk was uncharacteristically quiet, as it seemed both girls were a little bit nervous about the evening ahead. Once they reached Dewey's building, however, huge smiles broke out across both of their faces. "Good luck, Tink," Marta said with a sparkle in her eye.

"Right back atcha, Blondie."

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"Hey, hey, look who it is! Time for the party to _start_!" Katie, Alicia, Zack, Lawrence and Dewey all laughed at Freddy's comment as Marta and Summer walked into Dewey's apartment. Summer smiled, but didn't laugh. "Okay guys, it's past 3:00, it's time to get down to business."

The kids and Dewey all listened, as they began to form the ceremonial "circle of love," as Zack fondly called it, which commenced all of School of Rock's meetings. "Okay," started Summer, "first things first: before I bring up some issues, does anybody have anything they'd like to bring up?"

Freddy lifted his head, and looked as if he was just about to talk, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Dewey snapped his head around. "Who _is_ that? What type of idiot wouldn't know this place is off-limits right now?" He got up to open the door, and once he did, a very shocked expression came over his face. "Hi… come on in…"

None of the kids could see who was at the door, but Summer quickly noted that Zack's face had turned an interesting shade of magenta.

Dewey walked back into the room. "Uh, guys, we have a _visitor_."

Marta spoke up at that point. "We're not _allowed_ visitors during prac--" Her mouth shot open as she saw the blonde-haired girl who walked in. "Eleni, what are_ you_ doing here?"

Eleni had a smug smile stretched across her face. "Well, I thought since I was invited to the little get-together tonight, it would be okay for me to sit in on your practise today, since you'd probably be called something else if it wasn't for me, right?" She let out what she obviously thought was a cute giggle, but Summer found it rather disgusting.

"Well, _Eleni_," Summer began, "you'll have to go sit over there, we're in the middle of something."

"Whatever you say, _Tink_." Eleni said with a wink.

"It's _Summer_," the raven-haired girl said with a death glare. It was obviously as cold as she had wanted it to be, as Eleni shut up and went and sat where she was told. Quickly, Summer looked over at Zack with a sad expression. _How could he have invited _her_ to the movie? It was supposed to be for us…_ Summer snapped out of her thoughts as she realized Zack was looking right back at her. To cover up her blooper, she snapped at him. "Well, are you happy? Not only are we breaking band policy, but we're fifteen minutes behind schedule. Maybe we'll miss _the movie_." The last comment escaped her mouth with unneeded sarcasm that Alicia would have been proud of.

Zack, again, turned a bold shade of red and didn't say anything. An awkward silence filled the circle. Summer looked over at Marta. _She looks just as pissed off as I feel_, she thought. _She probably thinks that Eleni's here for Freddy…_ The tension could have been cut with a knife, but it was finally broken a minute later by Marta.

"Um… I have a question. Do you think that we'll ever be able to replace Tomika?" Summer realized Marta wasn't stressing about Freddy as she had thought, but about the band.

"Oh, God. I'm not sure. That was on my agenda for today, anyway. We have two choices when it comes to that - we can either audition someone else, or you and Alicia can take over," Summer reasoned.

Marta looked exasperated. "I'm not just talking talent-wise, Summer. She was a really good friend, you know? She always broke up the fights, 'cause she was the only one who saw how stupid they were. If it wasn't for her that day after Parent's Night, we wouldn't even be here."

Summer, instead of feeling sad, rolled her eyes at Marta. "Jesus, you're in one of your moods again. Don't be all like this, okay? Maybe we'll find someone, maybe not. We'll still be tight with her, even if she does live across the country. And no one will forget that she kept us together, alright? So _you_ need to keep it together."

Marta looked at Summer with wide eyes, but it was Katie who spoke up. "Calm down, Tink. Marta brought up a good point, so don't kill the messenger."

"Yeah, c'mon," coaxed Dewey. "Just simmer, Summer."

Yet another silence overcame the room. This time, Alicia spoke up. "Well, now that we're down to two back-ups, I think we should have a main back-up, and a back-up to the back-up, you know what I mean? I'll be the main one."

Marta let out a snort. "You're joking, right. That made no sense at all, and plus, there's no way I'm backing _you_ up."

The band members watched with wide eyes as they realized Marta and Alicia were gearing up for a huge argument.

"Why not? C'mon, Marta," Alicia said in what she obviously thought was a soothing tone, "you don't have to be frontin' like that. Everyone knows that you need to have a really, really good voice to be a lead, and, well…" She didn't finish her sentence, because the implication had gotten through.

Summer couldn't believe what she was hearing, and had half a mind to laugh out loud. The words coming out of Alicia's mouth were so ludicrous that it was possible it was all a joke. Marta, though, was taking this completely seriously.

"Bull_shit_, Alicia, _bullshit_! Ever since we started, you've always thought you were better than me, and you've had absolutely NO reason to think that. We're both on the same level talent-wise, _if _I'm not better, and just because you fucking swear every fucking five minutes doesn't make you a better singer than me!" Marta's eyes had become as huge as biologically possible, and the colour of her face was rivalling Zack's five minutes earlier.

"Okay guys, that's _enough_." Dewey cut in. "This is a stupid argument that I'm ending right _now_."

No, Dewey, too late… Summer realized that the pair hadn't been stopped quick enough, and that if Dewey was going to try and stop them, he was way too late, because Alicia looked ready to kill.

Alicia's eyes narrowed dangerously after Marta's last comment. When she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was deathly quiet. "What did you say? You think you're _better_ than me? You think that just because you _don't _swear that it makes you better than me?" Alicia's voice started to rise. "Well let ME tell YOU something, _Goldilocks_, you better damn-well be happy you haven't been through HALF the SHIT I've been through. You think you're all high and mighty with your little prim and proper ways. Well FUCK YOU, Marta, fuck you."

The room was so quiet, Summer could have heard a pin drop in a room 2 floors down and down the hall.

"I quit." Alicia stood up suddenly and started to make her way to the door.

"Alicia!" Summer tried to stop her. "You can't go! Come on, we've been through worse, we're all best friends here, you can't leave, we _need_ you! Marta's sorry, she is!"

"Are you _kidding_?" Was Marta's response.

Alicia shook her head. "It's been fun guys. But the fun's over. See y'all at school." As she was about to walk through the door, Alicia turned around and stared daggers into Marta. "Oh, by the way, you'll always be a blonde in my eyes, bitch." And the door slammed behind her.

The room couldn't have gotten quieter, and 5 minutes later no one had spoken a word. Marta's eyes were stained with tears, and Summer's head was about to burst. Suddenly, a giggle could be heard from the back of the room.

"Well, that sucked, eh?"

"Shut the HELL up, Eleni. We don't need your crap right now." It seemed to take all of Freddy's concentration not to yell at the top of his lungs.

Dewey let out a huge sigh. "Well, that has had to be one of the stupidest arguments I've ever, ever witnessed. And it lost us a member of a band."

Marta hung her head, but didn't back down. "She's always thought she was better than me, and there's a point where I just can't stand it anymore."

"I understand. But do you realize that it was just a stupid thing that set if off? I mean, I'm not even sure that she was being serious." Dewey said.

"I don't _care_ if she was being serious, Dewey. She always makes jokes like that, like it's common knowledge that she's just so good. I can't take it."

The room went quiet once again. This time, it was Lawrence's turn to speak up.

"Well, we are able to look at it this way: things cannot get worse, can they?"

For some reason, Dewey's shade turned a sickly shade of green. "Guys, I think it can."

Freddy smirked at the colour of Dewey's face. "You getting sick is _not_ the end of the world."

Dewey didn't laugh. "Summer, remember yesterday, when I told you I had something to bring up? Well… yeah."

The tension shot up in the room.

Dewey swallowed and started to talk. "I have an audition in California with this killer band; they're not known yet. They got a hold of me and asked if I would be interested in trying out for lead guitar, and I decided to take 'em up on it. If I get it, I'm moving to SoCal."

Zack spoke up right away. "But you already have a band. 'School of Rock.'"

Dewey shook his head. "Guys, this has been awesome, and I totally respect everything we've done here, man. But... I'm draggin' you down. You're all the same age, and here I am. I think we'd both be better off if we… I don't know… split?"

Zack's face turned a light shade of pink, as if insulted by the idea. Freddy, though, was the one to speak up. "Right. And what happens if you don't make it? There's no way you'd come back to School of Rock asking for re-entry, is there?" Dewey opened his mouth, but no sound came out. "Exactly," Freddy started, "exactly what I thought. You're not doing this for us, you're doing it 'cause you got a bunch of kids bringing you down. Dude, do whatever the hell you want, but don't lie to us."

Dewey looked at the group pleadingly. "Guys, that's not how it is, I swear…"

Summer had been watching the whole scene with an unbelievable expression on her face, but it dawned on her that Freddy was completely right. "I think it is, Dewey… I think it is." The whole group was now looking at Dewey with something worse than anger in their eyes: disappointment.

Dewey didn't seem to know what to say. "I'm sorry, dudes…" No one said anything. Dewey sighed. "I'll leave for a bit, let you guys finish up." And with that, the second member of the day to quit the band left the room.

Again, no one spoke for a long, long time. Then the silence was broken with a ditzy giggle.

"Wow, you guys really aren't having a good day, are you?"

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**A/N** - Okay, hopefully that was a little bit more interesting than the last chapter and you enjoyed it - please tell me what you think, okay? Thanks!


	4. The Aftermath

**Note:** chapter 4 edited! (July 21 04)

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**Chapter 4 - The Aftermath**

The door to Zack's house clicked open as the remaining members of School of Rock trudged into the lovely home. Too distracted to notice the gorgeous décor, the teens kicked off their shoes and followed Zack to the living room.

The group had chosen to skip the film that had been planned; they decided it would be a waste of money and time, as none of them would really be paying attention to the movie. On the bus ride back to Zack's place, the reality of the band's situation had sunk in, and the meaningless banter between the kids slowly died. By the time they had reached the house, no one had said a word for fifteen minutes.

The remaining seven kids plopped onto the couch. Summer scanned everyone's faces, and realized they all shared a certain complicated feeling: an intense sadness, mingling with both regret and anger. Zack's face, which Summer's eyes had lingered on for a little longer than the rest, showed a deep sense of betrayal. _He was really insulted by what Dewey said_, thought Summer, her face softening a bit at the vulnerability of his expression.

"So," Eleni broke the silence, "what's for dinner?"

"Shut _up_, Eleni!" Came the response from two different people in perfect unison. Summer looked up sharply as she noticed the slight colouring in both Freddy and Marta's cheeks. They both looked up tentatively, and the moment they caught each other's glance, looked away hastily.

Summer smirked to herself. She had quickly realized exactly what Marta was thinking. _She's ECSTATIC_, thought Summer, privately chuckling to herself in excitement for her best friend.

Eleni raised a single eyebrow at the two, narrowing her eyes at Marta. "Well, _sorry_, guys, didn't know I wasn't allowed to be hungry." Eleni continued to grumble to herself, causing Summer to want to slap the girl across the face because of her selfishness, but carefully restrained herself.

"Umm…" Katie spoke up. "Guys, what are we going to do?" She asked simply.

"What do you mean by this?" asked Lawrence.

"Well, I mean, at the beginning of practice today we were already missing a singer, and now, we're missing _three_ singers _and_ a guitar player."

"Well," Summer started slowly, "we have to figure out exactly what we need, like --"

"Yeah!" interrupted Zack. "Like, a lead guitarist, and a --"

It was Summer's turn to interject. "Excuse me, Zack, I was_ talking._" She projected her words with a certain harshness that no one in the band had ever really heard before. Even Marta, who knew Summer better than anyone else in the room, was looking open-mouthed at Summer with a confused expression. _Crap_, was all Summer could think.

If he hadn't brought Eleni, this never would have happened, thought Summer. Although she knew she couldn't blame it all on Zack, she kept a firm resolve and didn't back down from what she had said, deciding that even if she did adore him, she couldn't show it by being soft.

Zack had turned a light shade of pink, and muttered, "Sorry," with his head down, eyes focusing on the cream-coloured carpet. His apology tore Summer apart, but she couldn't allow herself to dwell on it any longer. As she lifted her head to speak, she saw Eleni looking at her with an unreadable expression. Summer continued on.

"Anyway, we're probably looking for at least 2 or 3 additions to the band. What do you guys think?"

"Yeah!"

"A lead guitarist --"

"A new singer!"

"Back-up vocals, maybe?"

Eleni murmured under her breath, "A new manager, perhaps?" Marta, who was unwillingly sitting beside her, shot the blonde a deadly look.

At that moment, however, Marta couldn't tell if Summer herself had heard the remark or not, as an expression of realization spread across the girl's face. _Oh shit_, thought Summer. "Guys," she began, "where are we going to practice?"

All the talking in the room came to a halt immediately, as they all figured out that because Dewey wasn't in the band anymore, they couldn't use his apartment as their HQ.

"Fuck," Freddy cursed simply, "she's right."

"Hey, I know!" Eleni chirped. Marta and Summer simultaneously rolled their eyes. "My daddy's garage is humongous! He wouldn't mind us using it, and there's plenty of room for all of us! And plus, when we want a break from practicing, I have a huge trampoline in the --"

Katie cut her off. "Thanks… but no thanks, Eleni. _We_ don't need a place to practice; _the band_ does. And," Katie continued, "the band can figure it out on its own." The implication of Eleni's obvious non-existence in the band was crystal clear.

Eleni shot Katie a glare, that scared the bassist slightly, but not enough to back down.

Summer looked at Katie's intensity, and suddenly felt a newfound respect for the girl. She actually felt jealous of Katie for her perfectly executed outburst at the blonde. _Plus_, thought Summer_, she showed the bimbo up right in front of Zack. Another opportunity to impress him down the drain._ Even still, Summer turned to Katie and gave her a quick smile of appreciation. Katie returned the smile with a short, inconspicuous wink.

"I have an idea, it may work…" Lawrence brought Summer back to reality. "It may be possible to use the basement in my house to continue our practices temporarily."

Summer felt a wave of relief. "That's awesome, Lawrence, great idea!"

Lawrence's cheeks turned a deep red, as he stammered, "T-thank y-you, Summer."

An awkward silence followed the exchange between the band's manager and keyboardist. It was eased, however, by Mrs. Mooneyham, who stuck her head in the door, and beckoned the teens for dinner.

The band, and Eleni, walked in the dining room, with a table full of what looked to be delectable eats. Mrs. Mooneyham was standing beside the table, beaming brightly at her tantalizing creations.

She was a beautiful woman, Summer noticed, and it was obvious that Zack got his _extremely gorgeously handsome, heavenly adorable good looks_, thought Summer, from his mom. _Shut up, Summer_, she quickly thought to herself. When Zack's mom turned to face the table, however, Summer noticed a rather ugly bruise on the side of Mrs. Mooneyham's jaw. The girl averted her attention to the dinner, she didn't want to it seem like she was staring.

"Sit wherever you guys like," smiled Mrs. Mooneyham, as the teens began to take their places around the food. Marta and Summer looked at each other, and hastily attempted to get seats together, and far from Eleni. To Summer's dismay, Eleni beckoned Zack to sit beside the blonde, and he… _accepted? Are you joking me? There must be something going on, if he's going to sit beside her…_ Summer was, all of a sudden, in a very horrible mood.

To Marta's satisfaction, Freddy pulled out the seat beside her, and tentatively asked, "Is anyone sitting here?" Marta blushed, and shook her head. Freddy smiled, an excited glint in his eyes, as he began to sit down. "Can I sit here, then?" He looked at Marta for approval.

Marta looked up and smiled. "Yeah, of course!" As Freddy smiled again and sat completely, she murmured to herself, "_Finally…_"

As Summer concentrated on the food in front of her, she heard Mrs. Mooneyham explain, "I've made you guys some steak and tortellini, just tell me if it's not up to par, alright kids?" She smiled and turned to leave the room.

"Actually," Eleni piped in, stopping Mrs. Mooneyham in her tracks, "I'm a vegan. I don't eat anything that has a mother… To be killed just for the sake of nourishing other beings who can easily be satisfied with other food kind of disgusts me, you know?" She finished in a sing-song voice.

Holy crap, Summer thought as she turned her head to Marta, whose face reflected her own thoughts, _did she really have to go on like that? She can't _actually _get away with that…_

Mrs. Mooneyham's smiled faltered, but only for a mere moment, as the pleasant looked quickly returned to her face. "No problem; I'll just go whip you up a salad, is that okay?"

Eleni smiled innocently. "That'll be fine, I guess," she said in a sickeningly sweet, yet rather ungrateful tone.

Mrs. Mooneyham left the room. Zack persisted, asking, "Is there anything else you need, Eleni? What can you have, then?"

Summer realized immediately he was only offering out of obligation, and mumbled, "Shit all…"

Zack seemed to overhear her comment, and smirked to himself, holding back laughter.

"I have a small question," said Lawrence. "Should we not practice again soon? I would not ask, except we did not get anything done today."

"Totally," Katie put in.

"Okay then," Freddy started. "Let's practice next week - next Thursday."

Summer shook her head. "Can't, it's my last day of summer school. How's Friday?"

The other band mates nodded their heads in compliance, and they ceased conversation while moving on to dinner.

All of a sudden, Summer let out a frightened squeal. "What was that?! There's something under the table!"

To Summer's surprise, Zack laughed. As everyone looked under the table, Zack explained, "That's August, my dog… Sorry if she's bugging you, she always hopes someone'll drop some food during dinner for her. Are you afraid of dogs? I can get her to leave…"

Summer blushed deep red, laughing at herself. "No! I'm not afraid of dogs at all! It just surprised me, that's all!"

Zack smiled. "It's all good, no worries."

----

The time had come to go home, and Summer, Marta, Eleni, and Zack were the only kids remaining, as Lawrence and Katie had already left. Freddy was next, and he gathered his things and said good-bye to the remaining members of the band. And Eleni.

"Alright, well, see y'all on the flip --" Freddy quickly stopped, as Dewey's parting line had hit a sour note. Hastily, he recovered. "Zack Attack, Tink… _Marta_…" He unknowingly put emphasis on Marta's name, causing the girl to blush. Realizing he had her attention, he quipped, "We really need to get you a new nickname, dude."

Marta laughed and sighed inwardly. Zack finished the exchange with the pair's secret handshake. Freddy turned to leave, but was distracted by a small, intentional cough. "…Bye Eleni."

No one said anything until Freddy called back into the room. "There's a silver Volvo sitting outside, someone else's parents are here!"

Summer sighed. "That's our ride, Marta." She cursed to herself; she wanted to be the last one left with Zack. Instead, Eleni would be left alone with him. _Damn_.

Marta said her quick good-byes and left the room. Summer turned to Zack awkwardly, who gave her a reassuring smile. "Sorry for… before…"

Zack helped her out of the situation, and exclaimed, "Don't worry about it, Tinkerbell. I'll catcha next Friday, eh?"

Summer smiled, said, "Thank your mom for me," and turned to leave. Before she exited the room, however, Eleni spoke up. "See ya later, Tink."

Summer turned to talk back to the blonde, but Zack beat her to it. Rolling his eyes slightly, he said slowly, "It's _Summer_."

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**A/N** - Hopefully this was entertaining - I have to give props to my cousins, Kaitlyn and Lauren, for the co-comingupwithideas on this chapter... and, well... many to come! A couple seeds were planted here, R&R!!


	5. An Unexpected Encounter

**Note: **Chapter 5 edited! (July 18 04)

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**Chapter 5 - An Unexpected Encounter**

The past week had flown by, too quickly for Summer to register. _There was a lot of phone time with Marta_, she chuckled to herself.

Indeed, Marta had been especially talkative and giggly for the past week. She couldn't stop talking about that day at Zack's house, and how the "delectable drummer," in her words, gave a couple of extremely obvious hints. Summer had only rolled her eyes, and asked her friend what had taken her so long to notice.

Thinking about Marta and Freddy automatically reminded her of Zack. _Hell, did I blow some chances or what_, Summer thought ruefully, as she gazed at the picture of the Doberman on her calendar. Eleni didn't seem to mind, however. She had always been incredibly happy to see Summer suffer because of her own faults.

She peered over to her digital alarm clock, and noticed she only had 10 minutes to get to Lawrence's house for the scheduled band practice. At that exact moment, the doorbell rang, and Summer could see Marta at the door from her bedroom window. _Talk about timing…_

----

"Ah, here comes out main vocalist and everyone's favourite manager!" Zack exclaimed as Summer and Marta walked into Lawrence's garage. Both of the girls blushed, Summer's cheeks turned a bold shade of magenta. _Favourite manager…_ the words echoed throughout Summer's mind.

Everyone was there already, and looking around at all the teens' faces, it seemed to Summer that the overall mood was much higher today than it had been a week before. _Maybe 'cause Eleni's not here?…_She thought satisfactorily to herself.

Katie was eager to get started. "'School of Rock,' then, people?"

Freddy shook his head. "Hold up, dude, we gotta figure some shit out." He turned his head to Marta. "Foxy, you take main vocals for now, so that way --"

Marta's face sported a slightly scandalized look, but her eyes looked hopeful. "What did you call me?"

Freddy face turned red, as the kids in the band looked extremely amused. "I thought that could be your new nickname… It's a bit more accurate than 'blondie,' eh?"

A deep shade of scarlet overtook Marta's face, as her heart seemed to leap up in excitement. "S-sure…" An embarrassed laugh escaped her lips.

"_Anyway_," Summer broke up the moment, much to Marta's dismay. She looked at Marta pointedly, trying to convey her happiness for her best friend. "Let's try what Freddy said. Marta, you do lead vocals, and let's see if we can go without Dewey's guitar, 'kay?"

"Yeah, Finn didn't do much anyway," spat Zack.

The band positioned themselves, and on Zack's count, began playing. Summer was incredibly disappointed, however, as the performance sounded horrible. _It's not their fault_, she thought sadly.

The band members seemed to be realizing it too, and their performance gradually grew more feeble. Finally, Freddy called out for the madness to stop.

"That was shit." He said simply.

"Totally. Something's missing. Something _big_ is missing," Katie complained.

"It is Dewey we are missing, his guitar solo," suggested Lawrence.

"Not only that, Lawrence. It's his voice too." The band looked at Summer questioningly. "We're missing a strong male voice. Dewey brought in the old school rock to the band."

Marta nodded her head in agreement. "Absolutely."

Freddy rubbed his temples. "We're going to have to hold auditions."

Zack shook his head at the idea. "Can't we do something else? We've been together for five years now --"

Freddy tried not to snap at his best friend. "Dude, what else _can_ we do? No one here but you can play guitar, so we need to get someone there. None of us can sing other than Marta, so we need another voice. We have no choice, man." His body only tensed up more at the recognition of the tight bind the band was in.

Zack looked defeated. "I feel you… But still…"

Summer looked away quickly. Ever since Dewey had shot her down as a singer back in fifth grade, she wanted to be able to contribute to the band. For the past couple years, she had been teaching herself guitar, with the help of a couple family members who knew how to play. _I won't say anything_, she reasoned, _I'm still not good enough_. _Maybe later_…

"Well," Marta spoke up, "maybe we could put up posters at school or something…? I mean, it looks like our only option right now."

Zack shrugged, looking thoroughly unsatisfied. "I guess so." He seemed to struggle with something inwardly, before blurting out, "Just once more, maybe? I wasn't on my game, personally."

Freddy sighed. "Sure man, but it won't do much…"

Alas, Freddy words rang true as Summer noted that the second attempt at the group's signature song sounded no better than the first. They finished the song rather hastily, almost wanting the torture to be over.

"God," groaned Katie, "we sound like tone-deaf five-year-olds."

"Fuck, amen to that," agreed Freddy, looking thoroughly worked over.

Zack looked up. "I think it's time to call it quits. Thanks for the garage, Lawrence."

One by one the members of the group started to pick up their things. As Summer started to organize her papers, Marta came bounding to her side. "God, Tink, let's get out of here, _please_."

Summer laughed at her impatience, and got up to walk out. But, she noticed Marta look over her shoulder, and stopped walking as soon as Marta did.

"Actually… I'll catcha later, Tink, I'm gonna stay behind," Marta whispered into Summer's ear.

Summer turned around, and saw that Freddy was the only kid left in the garage, as Lawrence had taken his keyboard upstairs, and Zack and Katie had already left. Summer smiled as she realized what Marta was thinking, and quickly agreed to it.

"Whatever you say, _Foxy_…" Marta whacked Summer on the arm, giggling at the assumption.

Summer was about to walk out of the garage, but turned around, and said, "Good luck, chickie." She proceeded to walk out of the room, inwardly praying her best friend would not do anything stupid.

----

Marta walked towards Freddy hesitantly, as he was in the middle of packing up his drum set.

"Do you need any help?" were her first words.

Freddy jumped in surprise, as he realized he wasn't alone in the room. He smiled. "Thanks, but I got it all under control here, Foxy."

Marta was discouraged, but didn't give up. "Oh, okay… That's cool." She stood still, unsure of what to say. She swallowed hard and continued on. "Um… I couldn't help but notice that you looked a bit more stressed out than usually today, Spaz…"

Freddy looked up sharply. "Yeah, so?"

Marta winced, but carried on. "Well, you know, I was just wondering --"

Freddy interrupted her, clearly about to start ranting. "You have no idea, Marta, how much I have to deal with. My parents are already bugging me about my grades, the band is practically falling apart, and everything has to fit in with my drumming. You wouldn't understand, drumming's a lot harder than singing…"

Marta's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, it's harder?" Freddy gave her a pointed look, which aggravated Marta even more. "Do you sing? Do you _know_ it's harder?"

Freddy laughed, and talked coaxingly as if he were explaining that one and one equaled two to a four-year-old. "Well, look at it this way: all you have to do is open your mouth and noise comes out. I have to practice my noise."

Marta could hardly believe she was having this conversation with him. "First Alicia, then you! Does anyone believe in me around here?!"

Freddy's eyes widened in worry. "That's not what I meant! I _meant_ to say, you don't need to practice as much as I do."

Marta nodded her head sarcastically. "Right, Spaz, right. Hitting an A above high C takes no fucking effort at all."

Freddy was taken aback, an annoyed look on his face. "Whatever the hell you say, Marta. I'd like to see you try drumming. I'd bet my drumset you couldn't do it."

Marta's face looked set. _Bring it on, man_, she thought. "Try me, Freddy. You never know."

Freddy smirked as he repositioned himself behind his drums, and challenged her. "You try to do what I do, Foxy, and if you can do it, I'll leave you and your A above high C alone forever." Freddy screwed up his face in concentration, and launched into a short but impressive drum solo Dewey had taught him.

Once he finished, he looked up at Marta, who looked slightly nervous, but still determined. She walked steadily over to the drums. "Move it or lose it, dude, it's my turn."

Freddy laughed in spite of himself and handed over his drumsticks.

Marta took them in her hands. _God, I hope I'm holding these right… _she thought as she lifted her hands to start banging on the drums in front of her. _This should be easy, s_he tried to tell herself. When Freddy had executed the perfectly administered solo only seconds before, she tried to memorize exactly where each hand had gone, and when.

Unfortunately for her, Freddy's arms had been moving so fast, they had just looked like one huge blur.

It dawned on Marta that she hadn't the slightest clue what she was about to do. _I can either try and embarrass myself, or talk my way out of it and save face…_

"So? Let's get this shit on, sister. _Move it or lose it_!" Freddy sneered, mocking Marta.

Marta dropped the drumsticks and turned around to face Freddy with an angry, yet slightly defeated, look on her face. "Oh yeah? Well… singing's hard too, you ass."

Freddy started to laugh, the insult being so weak he thought it was a joke. When he realized, however, that she was trying to stand up for herself, his laughing weakened. His expression softened when he saw the vulnerability etched on Marta's features.

"D-do you want me to teach it to you, Foxy?" _What the FUCK, Jones, why are you stuttering?_ Freddy thought angrily at himself. Marta didn't seem to notice, however, as the angry look on her face disappeared.

"Fine… But you did NOT win this one, Spaz, you resigned from the challenge yourself."

Freddy smirked. "Whatever you say, doll." He bent over to pick up the drumsticks.

Marta made to stand up so Freddy could use the stool, but she felt a firm hand grasp her shoulder. She stopped moving immediately and stood there, as if frozen in time. "Sit down, Foxy," Freddy whispered, "I'll show you."

Marta practically melted back onto the stool, as Freddy squatted behind her, and put the drumsticks into her hands. He then took them into his own, as he prepared to show her the moves.

I wish I knew if he was thinking the same thing I am, Marta wondered nervously, as Freddy began to take her arms slowly through the motions of the drum solo. She couldn't believe how right it felt, being in his arms that way.

Freddy began to slow down. "Now, here's where it gets complicated; your hands gotta cross over, like this…" His voice faded out as his arms crossed with Marta's, unknowingly sending shivers down her spine.

Marta, at this point, was no longer paying attention to the solo, but to the way the pair's arms were linked together, and how Freddy's arms were wrapped around her.

Freddy didn't seem to mind either, as he paused in the position.

Marta leaned back onto Freddy's chest, feeling strangely at home. Freddy's head came forward, and he whispered something into Marta's ear. It was too quiet for her to hear, however.

She turned her body around, so she was completely facing him. "What did --"

Freddy leaned closer, so their faces were mere inches apart, and put his finger to her lips to stop her. "Don't talk." He hesitated for a moment, staring transfixed at Marta's lips.

Suddenly, in a bold and quick movement, there was no longer any space between them.

Marta squelched a scream, as she was totally taken aback by the sudden interaction. _ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID?_ her head seemed to scream at her, and she immediately sunk into the bold kiss.

Fireworks were all Freddy felt as his mind swirled around in exhilaration. _Finally…_ His feelings for the petite girl were finally being expressed, and she seemed to be feeling the same way he did. The kiss was being returned by Marta intensely, and Freddy felt he could have stayed there forever.

A thought came over Marta, and she quickly pulled away. Freddy looked at her in annoyance, asking silently why she had stopped.

"Freddy… Eleni…"

Freddy looked confused. "What are you talking about, woman?"

"Well," started Marta, feeling quite sheepish, "I just assumed there was something there… I mean, she obviously is totally into you, and well, what's _not_ to like about her, right…?"

Freddy looked hurt, and almost insulted. "Are you kidding me? Marta, she's the _last_ thing on my mind right now! I can't believe you'd ever think that! _That_ spoiled brat? No way!…"

Marta smiled with relief as Freddy spoke the words she needed to hear. Quickly, she put her hand over his moving mouth. "Don't talk." And leaned in once again.

Freddy, to say the least, shut up quite quickly.

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**A/N** - Okay, I really, really hope this chapter was alright. Please review: is it okay? Too out-there? Too doesn't-make-sense-ish? Any comments would be fab! Thanks! :D


	6. A Bittersweet Ending

**Note: **Chapter 6 edited! (July 18 04)

Okay, I just want to say a quick thanks to my reviewers, 'cause if y'all had said I sucked and there was no point in my existence, I'm not sure if I would've continued.

**Tina**, I'm sorry for the boringness of that chapter, but I just felt it had to be done!

**writerdude3000**, I really like to see what you have to say 'cause you're a really established writer, so thanks for taking the time!

**Xo Miss Riley Xo**, I know that there are enough angst stories out there, so if mine ever gets a little too "Why me?" just slap me, okay? Thanks!

**tmrwspromise**, thanks for the kind words and encouragement!

**Nanners-77**, I totally value your opinion and thanks so much for reviewing! I'm warning you now, though, you'll want to hurt Eleni with a blunt knife sooner rather than later… Sorry!

**KT**, thanks for the _huge_ compliment!!

**mr. mister**, thanks so much! I hate Eleni too!

Holy geez, enough of my babbling!

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**Chapter 6 - A Bittersweet Ending**

"YOU DID _WHAT_?!" Summer yelled into the phone receiver, after taking in Marta's account of what happened after band practice.

Marta chuckled. "Yeah… I couldn't really believe it either. Funny how things work out, eh?"

Summer couldn't concentrate on the afternoon snack she was trying to concoct. "Marta, what happens now? Are you guys going out? Was it just a one time thing? I need answers!"

"Tsk, tsk, Tink, you didn't let me finish!" Marta was in an incredibly good mood. "First of all, after we… stopped… I asked what it had been that he had whispered into my ear. It was _so_ cute, Summer, he turned all red and stuff… Anyway, he told me he had said that I was really cute when I didn't know what I was doing!"

Summer unsuccessfully held back laughter, and snorted into the phone. "What a diss."

"Shut up!" was the reply. "At least he finds me cute."

Summer was about to open her mouth to retort, but her mom's voice calling from her office stopped her. "Summer, I need the phone right now! Get off immediately, please!"

"Marta, go on messenger. I have to get off the phone, and we are _definitely_ not done talking about this."

Marta gave a flattered giggle, obviously loving all the attention her stint with Freddy was getting. "Awesome, talk to you in a bit, Tink."

"Talk to you… Marta. You need a real nickname, you know? There's no way I'm calling you 'Foxy.'"

Marta laughed once more before she and Summer hung up. Summer grabbed her tortilla and ran quickly up the grand staircase and opened the door to her impeccably organized room.

Quick as a flash, Summer was in the chair in front of her computer. Before logging on, however, she carefully chose a CD to put into her stereo. Smiling mischievously to herself, she chose one of her personal favourites, and soon enough, Michelle Branch was blaring throughout the red and beige bedroom.

Summer logged on to messenger. Quickly, she carelessly scanned the list of who was online: Frankie from school (she never talked to him), her distant cousin from D.C., Freddy, and Marta. She waited for Marta to start talking to her, and was about to talk to Freddy, when he initiated the conversation himself.

spazzmcg _says: hey man sup?_

Tink _says: hey! not much, you?_

spazzmcg _says: o same here_

spazzmcg _says: what u up to?_

Tink _says: o nuthin, just sitting here_

spazzmcg _says: o cool_

spazzmcg _says: truth or dare?_

Summer sat back from her computer screen, momentarily stunned at the abrupt question Freddy had asked. The two of them were fairly close friends, as they would call each other once in a while to hang out, but Summer had never seen him as the type she'd play Truth or Dare with. Still confused, she replied.

Tink _says: …truth?_

It took a moment for Freddy to reply, and Summer stared at her computer screen with a mix of nervousness and anxiety.

spazzmcg _says: who do u like?_

Summer glared at the screen with indignation and a red face. _What does he care?_ she thought angrily, and she replied quickly, not thinking her words through like she normally did, and tapping on the keys a little bit harder than usual.

Tink _says: none of your business! and if u must know, the person i like is no1 u know anyway_

spazzmcg _says: lol sorry tink didnt mean to piss u off_

spazzmcg _says: well g2g… but zacks sitting here he sayz hi_

spazzmcg _says: ttyl_

- **spazzmcg**_ has signed off. -_

Summer's body froze, unable to take her eyes off of Freddy's words: "_zacks sitting here"_ … So Zack had seen everything she had written, right down to, "_the person i like is no1 u know anyway_…"

From what Summer could remember, Freddy knew Zack quite well, seeing as they were best friends.

What have I done? Summer thought with self-directed anger and she forcefully ran her hands through her elbow-length hair. _I couldn't even have worded it differently, could I? It wouldn't make sense just to say, "I'm not telling," or, "Why do you care?"_ Summer rolled her eyes at herself. _No, of course not, Summer._ She shook her head. As her spirits sunk steadily lower, she realized that not only would wording it differently have made more sense, but she wouldn't have been lying. The stupid line she had fed Freddy (_and Zack…_) was a total, boisterous lie.

As Summer sat low in her computer chair, she was brought back to reality when she noticed that Marta had indeed started a conversation with her. _How long has she been talking to me? _Summer thought as she bit her lip.

FoXy _says: omg so tink lets continue_

FoXy _says: right?_

FoXy _says: hello_

FoXy _says: helloooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

FoXy _says: where da hell r u?!?!?!?!?_

FoXy _says: SUMMER HATHAWAY ANSWER ME NOW_

FoXy _says: wtf summer wats ur problem u were the 1 who wanted to talk_

- **FoXy** _has signed off. -_

- **Foxy **_has signed on. -_

- **FoXy **_has signed off. -_

- **Foxy** _has signed on. -_

- **FoXy **_has signed off. -_

- **Foxy** _has signed on. -_

- **FoXy** _has signed off. -_

- **Foxy** _has signed on. -_

FoXy _says: HES ONLINE AND UR NOT EVEN HELPING ME WAT DO I SAY HELLLLOOOOOOOOO_

Crap. Summer was in deep trouble.

Tink_ says: i'm soooooooooooooooooooo sorry marta… lemme explain_

FoXy_ says: w/e but no its my turn now k_

FoXy_ says: so about ur question, i think we're going out… im not sure though cuz he asked me if I wanted to go to a movie or sumthin just me and him before summer ended so wat does that mean?????_

Summer tried as hard as she could to concentrate on the current conversation.

Tink_ says: ummm I dunno girl… id say thats a pretty clear sine u guys r goin out… ask him hes online!_

FoXy_ says: good idea brb_

Summer took advantage of Marta's leave and sat back in her chair. Did it even matter that she had practically told Zack she didn't like him? _Maybe he doesn't even like me, and they were just acting like immature boys, asking girls stupid questions…_ She thought hopefully. Nevertheless, even this thought couldn't lift her spirits - she was stuck on the idea that Freddy had asked for a reason.

FoXy_ says: u there this time??_

Tink_ says: u bet... what did he say?_

FoXy_ says: ok well i was like "so about that movie" and he was like "i cant wait" and i was like "ya neither can i but what type of movie r we gonna go see" and he was like "well a gf/bf movie obviously" so ahhhhhhh!_

Tink_ says: omg marta that's AWESOME im so happy for u!!!!! i told u he liked u! i told u!_

FoXy_ says: ya ya i get it u were right lol happy???_

FoXy_ says: oooooh g2g k dinner time but ill phone u or come over lata k cuz we gotta talk some more bye!!!_

- **FoXy**_ has signed off. -_

Summer followed suit, and logged off of her computer right after Marta. Picking herself up off of her chair, she flopped onto her bed, face first.

Why is life so complicated? Summer knew perfectly well that her life wasn't complicated in the least, but she had led a decently organized one up to this point. Now, she had just told the guy she practically loved that she wasn't interested in him at all, and she had no one to vent on, because Marta had her own things to think about.

I could call Lawrence… Summer quickly scoffed at the idea. It was true that her and the band's keyboardist could talk about almost anything, but the fact that he liked her left the whole "liking people" issue a little touchy between the two.

A wave of frustration hit the raven-haired girl like a bag of bricks. "WHY AM I SO STUPID?! WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE EACH OTHER?! _WHY WAS MESSENGER INVENTED?!_"

"I don't know," came her father's voice from the other side of her bedroom door, "I'm dieing to know the same thing."

Summer's face fell. "Come in," Summer said feebly.

Her father stepped into her room with the smallest hint of a smirk on his face. "I'd love to leave you and your angst in peace, my dear, but you have an Orthodontist appointment in twenty minutes, and I'm afraid you can't miss that." He walked out of her room, finishing with, "I'll meet you downstairs in five minutes."

Summer sighed and lugged herself off of her bed. This summer had been a bit of a whirlwind, what with losing three members of the band, living with her braces, Eleni interfering with the band's perfect harmony (_What did I _ever_ see in her back in the day?_), and now Marta and Freddy.

Summer left her room with one last thought: it was a good thing summer was about to end, because she wasn't sure if she could handle being alone with her thoughts for much longer.

* * *

**A/N** - Alright, let me explain this Internet Messenger overload, here: I'm only 16, so it wasn't that long ago, but I remember the summers when I was 14 and 15, and I completely lived and died (maybe I'm alone in this aspect) by the MSN Messenger. So I decided to mould the now-teens after my own experience, and have a few important events be brought through on the computer. So, with that, I totally apologize for the incredible hard-to-readness of the majority of this chapter, but I felt it had to be done properly! It's a little shorther than the other chapters, but I just wanted to wrap things up, really. Tell me what you think, guys, thanks!! (And sorry for my horrible rambling in my notes!)


	7. All My Fault

**Note: **Chapter 7 edited! (July 18 04)

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**Chapter 7 - All My Fault**

The large, looming, brick building that was Horace Green towered over Summer as she stood on the school's front steps. She had just arrived for her first day of school with Marta, but her best friend had hurriedly stalked off to find Freddy. But it didn't matter, because Summer felt at home at Horace Green. So, with a smile on her face, she began to walk through the structure's double doors.

Horace Green Prep had originally been a private elementary school, teaching only from Kindergarten to grade seven. Summer had been going to Horace Green since she was five, as had the rest of her classmates, except for Michelle, who came in grade two, and Marco and Tomika, both of whom came in grade four. There had been no new students since them, however, which was one thing Summer had always been happy about.

In the class' grade five year, the same year they met Dewey, Ms. Mullins announced that Horace Green was being expanded to cover up to grade twelve. And sure enough, by the time Summer hit grade seven, an entirely new wing was built onto the school building, and just like that, the kids were no long the oldest in the school.

Whenever Summer thought about it, she realized how lucky her class really was. The group of fifteen had been together for most of their school years, and had only lost two kids; three including Tomika; along the way.

Marco had left after grade seven, and transferred to a public school close by. Many excuses had been thrown around: bullying (although no one in the class could figure out by whom), problems with the staff, Marta believed adamantly that Marco's parents could no longer afford Horace Green Prep, as the tuition had been raised to $20,000 in grade six to pay for the new division of the school. Summer, though, was pretty sure she had it right when she said Marco left because his grades just weren't good enough.

Leonard leaving after grade eight had been quite a shock to everyone in the class. No one disliked him, and he could have run for class president and won, just because he was so cute. His parents decided, however, to move to the mainland. Before he left, he told the class he'd be attending Milton Prep, Horace Green's rival K-12 school right across the bridge. He had promised he would never stop being a "Greener," as they called themselves, but no one had heard from him since he moved.

Summer made her way through the elementary wing of the school over to the secondary side, where she began to see familiar faces. She greeted Billy and Gordon when she saw them at the locker assignment sheet, and made idle chat. Once they walked away to find their lockers, Summer headed in the other direction, knowing the general area of her new locker.

As she walked down the crowded hallway alone, her mind couldn't help but track back to that day near the end of vacation. After she had gotten back from her Ortho appointment (where she gotten her elastics changed to blue and purple), she had phoned Marta, and invited her to come over.

Marta and sauntered over to Summer's house, obviously not expecting the horrible news her friend was about to drop on her.

---------------

"Maybe…" Marta started, "maybe Freddy knows_ you like Zack, or thinks it anyway, and was just trying to get it out of you!" She finished her sentence with a hopeful tone._

Summer shook her head. "Even if that was the case, it doesn't mean it's any better. No doubt he would've told Zack what he thought, and I just cemented the deal with saying I didn't."

Marta shrugged her shoulders, and after a few moments of thinking, spoke up. "I dunno, Tink, that's not necessarily the case. I mean, they're boys, they don't tell each other things like we girls do. He might not have told Zack in the first place." Marta's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "God, Summer, maybe Zack wasn't even there!!"

Summer scoffed at the idea, she had already thought about this. "Then why would Freddy bring up the fact that Zack was there after_ I had said I didn't like him? It would be no use other than to make me feel guilty."_

Marta's upper body sagged. "Just a thought…"

---------------

As Summer approached her locker, she remembered that after hours of deliberation, the two decided that Freddy was just being a loser, and Summer had nothing to worry about.

Her mind quickly switched over to her best friend. _I can't help but be happy for her_, she thought. A smile crept across her face as she thought about what Marta had told her on the phone after she had gotten back from her movie with Freddy just a couple days previous. _She's so happy with him!_

Freddy, apparently, was also a bit of a romantic.

---------------

"And then, Tink, oh my God, you're not going to believe what he said. We were talking about my nickname, and then he's like, 'I don't want other people calling you "Foxy," I'll get jealous,' it was adorable, he's so cute when he's --"

"I get it, Marta, go on!"

"Okay, so then he looked, like, straight into my eyes and said, 'Twinkle.' And I had no idea what he was going on about, right, so I was like 'What are you talking about?' And then, oh my God, listen to what he said: he said, 'Your nickname should be "Twinkle," because your eyes never seem to stop doing just that.'

Summer couldn't help but squeal. "Holy crap_, Marta… So it's Twinkle, now, we're not going back! Tink and Twink!"_

Marta laughed softly. "You bet."

---------------

As Summer grabbed a lock and began to memorize her new combination, she laughed at the following hour and a half the two had spent on the phone after that conversation. _She deserves this, she worked so har--_

"Hi." Summer whipped her head to her right to see who had interrupted her thoughts. Alicia was standing beside her, a lock held in her hand as well.

"Oh…" Summer tried to make light of the situation, "hi, Alicia… What's up?"

"This is my locker." She pointed to the one directly beside Summer's. "Where's yours?"

Summer gave a hesitant laugh, as she pointed at her locker. "Right here."

Alicia rolled her eyes. "Well if this isn't going to be awkward…"

Summer laughed. Alicia never was one for beating around the bush, and her bluntness could get extremely annoying. However, in this situation, Alicia's choice of words eased the tension, and it helped Summer, knowing Alicia was just as uncomfortable as she was.

"Well, listen, I guess I'll see you guys in class. I can't wait for our heart-to-heart locker chats," said Alicia over her shoulder as she walked away. Summer cocked her head to the side in thought. _Was that humour or sarcasm?_

Summer had no time to dwell on it, however, as she heard familiar voices behind her. She twirled around to see Katie and Zack walking into the secondary wing, approaching the locker assignment list.

Summer skipped over to them, recognizing and ignoring the fact that she was going to be very, very nervous around Zack. They hadn't talked since the incident on Messenger. Nevertheless, she decided to try and act as though it never happened.

"Katie! Zack!"

Katie looked up and smiled. "Hey Tink! Excited yet?"

Zack wasn't as quick to greet Summer, however, and he hung his head down slightly, looking everywhere but at the girl who was approaching them. "Hey Tinkerbell."

Summer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at Zack's peculiar reaction, and her mouth was open to say something, when she was cut off by Freddy's voice.

"_There_ you guys are! Where have you been hiding?" Freddy appeared from an adjoining hallway, holding Marta's hand proudly in his.

Summer and Zack both smiled and beckoned the couple over, but Katie's reaction was enough to distract both of them. Her face paled completely, her eyes narrowed, and her gaze seemed completely focussed on…

Marta and Freddy's hands…Katie's behaviour clicked in Summer's mind. _She likes him…Uh oh._

"Hello, Marta," said Katie coldly in greeting as the two approached the trio by the locker sheet.

"Actually," Freddy seemed completely oblivious to Katie's expression, "her new nickname's Twinkle, so you can call her that now."

"I'll stick to Marta," came the response.

Summer was about to step in between the daggers Marta and Katie were shooting at each other, when she was once again interrupted. Except this time, by a high, shrilly, annoying giggle.

"_Zack! _I've been looking _everywhere_ for you!" Summer rolled her eyes dangerously to the back of her head as the telltale blonde ponytail appeared from another adjoining hallway.

"Don't bother to greet the rest of us," spat Marta, eyeing the girl with obvious dislike.

Eleni gave an unflattering sneer. "Calm down, would you, _Marta_? I'm just so excited to be seeing my boyfriend for the first time this school year!"

All of Summer's, Katie's, and Marta's jaws dropped straight to the floor, as Eleni wrapped her arms around Zack's neck in a PG-13 hug. Freddy was looking at a discoloured spot on the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the universe.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" Marta hissed into her boyfriend's ear, fearfully looking over at her best friend in the process. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you _stop him_?"

Freddy shrugged his shoulders. "It was his decision, who am I to stop him?" He hissed back.

Summer felt as though her body had shattered. It felt as though both Eleni and Zack had grabbed a bunch of sharp, pointy rocks and threw them at her and didn't miss once. It felt as though Zack had ripped her heart out, showed it to everyone, and then gave it to Eleni, who promptly threw it on the ground and stomped all over it.

Eleni was still latched on to Zack as if he was her life support, and Zack was neither encouraging her, nor discouraging her.

Summer felt compelled to shut her eyes, because it felt as though the room was spinning in never-ending circles. She had always thought that line, "Stop the room please, I would like to get off," was rather corny, but she felt it was rather appropriate at this point.

All the world had disappeared except for Zack and Eleni. It was like a bad dream… _A bad, bad, bad, bad dream…_

Marta was looking at Summer with fear and pity etched all over her features. Although there was conversation going on between the other band members, she didn't want to risk turning any attention towards her completely crushed best friend. Therefore, she stayed silent, and silently urged Summer to go to the bathroom or something, so she could follow.

Summer, though, had no intentions of moving. It wasn't because she didn't want to - on the contrary, she would have paid money to leave the scene, but her appendages were momentarily frozen. She could still only see the love of her life, and that, that… _that DOG._

"… And besides, class starts soon." Words slowly began filtering in to Summer's mind once again. Katie continued what she was saying. "I say we go to class, yes?"

"You guys go ahead," Marta began, ignoring the death glare she received from Katie, "I think it's time for a Tink and Twink potty break, eh Sum?"

Summer nodded her head, but other than that, she didn't move in the slightest. Fortunately, Freddy urged the gang to move on, and soon, Summer and Marta were left alone by the locker list.

Marta knew better than to try and coax Summer into doing anything when she was in this emotional state. Her patience paid off about 3 minutes later, when Summer seemed to regain life.

"Let's go to the bathroom." Were the words that escaped Summer's lips, and the pair promptly walked to the ladies' room down the hall.

Summer didn't even wait for the door to fully close. "GIRLFRIEND? _GIRLFRIEND?!_ ARE YOU _KIDDING_ ME? Who would want HER for a GIRLFRIEND?!"

Marta shook her head. "I have no idea what he's thinking."

Summer was fuming. "Yeah, neither do I." She slammed her fist into the soap dispenser, causing some pink goo to drip down onto the countertop.

When Eleni had first uttered the word "girlfriend," Summer had been in complete shock. Once she had regained mobility and her voice, however, rage had overtaken her body like never before. She unsuccessfully attempted to suppress her urges to scream and hit things.

Now, though, a wave of sadness overcame the petite girl, and she leaned against the cool tiled wall and slowly slid all the way to the floor. Summer curled up into the fetal position, and when she finally spoke up, she was on the verge of tears.

"Marta, remember when I told Freddy that I didn't like anyone he knew?"

Marta replied quickly. "Yeah, Tink, I remember. Why?"

A couple tears began to slide down Summer's face. "Don't tell him, but I lied."

Marta immediately made her way over to her best friend, sat down beside her, and motioned for Summer to come to her. Summer instantly sat up and crawled into Marta's embrace, not exactly crying, but with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Marta, it's all my fault…"

* * *

**A/N** - I hope you all are hating Eleni as much as I am right now... This chapter, and chapter 8 were going to all be one, but I decided to put a real focus on the little, oh, I don't know, _catastrophe_ that is Zack and Eleni. Sooooo, part 2 of the first day of school coming up. Please review, guys, tell me whatcha think! Thanks! :D 


	8. Distracted Thoughts

**Note: **Chapter 8 edited! (July 18 04)

Sorry for the bit of a wait there, didn't mean for this chapter to take so long!

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**Chapter 8 - Distracted Thoughts**

Marta patted Summer on the head. "What are you talking about, hun? Of course it's not your fault! Zack just made a stupid decision, and he's going to realize it after five minutes of being around that… thing."

Summer didn't say anything, and kept her head buried into Marta's shoulder. She kept replaying the scene of Eleni jumping on Zack over and over again in her head.

"Summer?" Marta pulled away from her best friend to look her straight in the eye. "I know you're hurt, and I know you want to torture someone really, really badly right now. But do you know what would give Eleni the most satisfaction? She'd love to know that you're sitting here, upset, and that she's making your life a living hell. She lives for this, girl!"

The truth in Marta's words resulted in Summer standing up. As she smoothed out her skirt, she said, "You're right, Twink, of course. I just... God, it hurts, you know?"

Marta nodded her head hastily. "I totally know what you mean, and I don't blame you at all. All I'm saying is, don't let Eleni know that," she reasoned, as she looked up at Summer, who seemed to have stopped crying.

Summer looked at herself in the mirror. _What a face_, she thought to herself with a hint of sarcasm. Looking back at her in the mirror was a girl with Summer's hair and facial structure, except the face was discernable: the eyes were all puffy, and mascara and eyeliner ran down the cheeks.

Summer laughed out loud. "Thank God I brought my makeup, eh?"

Marta smirked. "I was trying to figure out how to tell you."

----

Summer peeked through the window of Room 103-C, her new classroom, and tried to see what was going on. She had made a quick trip to her locker, and with the magic of cover-up and eyeliner, looked almost as good as new.

The class sizes at Horace Green had always been fairly small, simply because there weren't many people around that both could afford the school, and wanted to send their children there. So, in the end, the same group of kids had made up their grade throughout their school years.

Summer tried not to groan in defeat as she saw what was taking place inside the classroom. Their teacher, who they knew as Mrs. Teltrin, was already speaking animatedly to the class. Rumours were that Teltrin was extremely nice, but very, very fair. So when it came to breaking the rules, such as being late, someone would probably get punished.

"What's happening?" Marta whispered from her position on the floor.

"Oh, we're just fifteen minutes late for our first day of school, that's all."

Marta rolled her eyes. "Well, do you want to be twenty minutes late? Knock on the door, retard."

Summer chose not to argue, and with a deep breath, knocked on the door. Mrs. Teltrin immediately stopped what she was doing, and came to open the door.

"Welcome, girls, did you get lost?"

Summer shook her head, quickly thinking of a way to explain their tardiness. "No, sorry Mrs. Teltrin, there was just a slight problem…" Her voice trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

Mrs. Teltrin didn't pry. "That's fine girls. However, I still want to talk to you after class, alright?"

Summer and Marta's eyes both dropped to the ground in embarrassment and defeat.

"Okay, there's a couple open spots that you girls can take up. I let the kids pick their own seats this year, so hopefully these are okay with you as well."

Summer looked at the two remaining empty desks. Before she had time to really choose a seat, though, Marta headed off for the one closest to the window, which had obviously been saved for her, as she took her seat beside Freddy.

Summer turned to make her way to her new desk, and with all her might, held back an angry scream, as she realized that not only was she sitting in the back, but right behind Zack, who was right beside Eleni. _Perfect. Just perfect, I love watching girls ruin my life_, she thought as she looked straight ahead at the blackboard.

"Okay," started Mrs. Teltrin, "moving on, ladies and gents. As I was saying, this year we'll be working on a 'Day One, Day Two' schedule. Does anyone know what I mean by this?"

Summer's hand shot up, and she began talking when Teltrin pointed to her. "Doesn't it mean that we'll be having the same subjects every other day?"

Mrs. Teltrin nodded. "Exactly… Sorry, I didn't catch your name…?"

"Summer."

"Right. Well, yes, Summer that's exactly what it means. If you will all take out a piece of paper, or your agenda books I handed out - girls, if you didn't get one, they're on the back ledge there. So, on Day Ones, which we'll start tomorrow, you will have the Sciences, World Cultures, Engli--"

Mrs. Teltrin was interrupted by Ms. Mullins stepping into the room. "Why, hello, Ms. Mullins!"

The principal gave Teltrin a curt nod. "Yes, hello, good day to you students."

"Good day Ms. Mullins," was the monotonous reply.

Ms. Mullins turned her head to Mrs. Teltrin once again. "I was just wondering if I could have a brief word with Summer Hathaway? It wouldn't take more than three minutes." And without waiting for Mrs. Teltrin's reply, Mullins beckoned Summer up with her hand.

Summer felt her face turn red as she headed up her row to the door held ajar by Ms. Mullins. _What a great first impression I must be making, turning up late, then being escorted out by the principal, of all people_…

When the door shut behind the pair, Ms. Mullins smiled at Summer. "Hello, Summer, did you have a good vacation?"

Summer opened her mouth to reply, but Ms. Mullins kept talking. "That's great. How's the band going?"

"I-it's good…" Summer forced out, as her mind quickly went to the absence of Dewey, Alicia and Tomika.

"Well, then, perfect!" Ms. Mullins clapped her hands. "In that case, I wanted to ask you, since you are the band manager, yes? Anyway, I was wondering if you guys would like to perform at the Christmas dance held in December for the secondary students before you get out for holidays? Just a couple Christmas-y songs, you know?"

Summer opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. Ms Mullins, fortunately, kept on talking. "I just wanted to tell you now so I could give you guys enough time to find songs, practice, etcetera."

And with that, the principal smiled, and opened the classroom door again for Summer, who stepped inside and slowly walked back to her seat.

Summer sank into her chair, and was barely listening to Mrs. Teltrin talk about classroom behaviour when Zack turned around partly in his seat. "Hey, what did Mullins want?"

Summer slowly brought her head up. If there was anyone in the world she wanted to talk to right now, it wasn't Zack. It may have been a different story forty-five minutes beforehand, but at this point, Summer wanted to chop his head off. Through gritted teeth, Summer said, "If it had concerned you, she would have called _you_ out of the classroom, wouldn't she?"

Zack winced, but didn't back off. "Oh… I just thought I heard her say something about 'band manager,' so I assumed it was something to do with the band," he whispered.

"Well," finished Summer, "you assumed wrong. Turn around now, I don't want to get in any more trouble before this day ends."

----

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur for Summer. She tried her best to pay attention to Mrs. Teltrin, but soon realized it was a lot easier to pay attention when sitting in the front of the classroom - being in the back brought on the distractions of being able to see everyone else.

Summer had noticed that even though she was sure Marta was ecstatic to be sitting beside Freddy, she seemed rather tense, and it was undoubtedly because right behind her, sat Alicia.

Freddy was sitting right in front of Frankie. The two had been best friends in grade five, but the band had brought Freddy and Zack close together, and the guitarist quickly replaced Frankie. Frankie still tried to be as close to Freddy as he could, though.

Summer had tried her best all day not to turn to her right. Beside her sat Michelle. It was true that she didn't despise her in the way she did Eleni, but the two were best friends, so loyalties lay in a place Summer didn't want to go. And, of course, the next desk up from Michelle held Eleni, and Summer didn't think she could handle looking at her.

As the final bell of the day rang, Summer made eye contact with Marta, and together, they went in the opposite direction of the door - Mrs. Teltrin's desk.

Mrs. Teltrin smiled at the two girls. "Thanks for complying girls, and not just leaving like a lot of kids would do. That brings me to respect you more, and respect is an important thing in the classroom." She paused. "Now, you don't have to tell me the whole story, but I can't let you guys go without a bit more of a specific explanation of why you girls were late."

Marta looked uncomfortable as she opened her mouth to speak. "Um… Well something happened between two people in our class that kind of… Surprised us. Especially Summer… She just needed a minute to… Well… yeah."

Mrs. Teltrin nodded. "Gotcha. No worries, girls, I didn't mean to pry, I just needed to know a bit more. But do realize that I really don't tolerate tardiness, so please try your best to be on time from now on." And with a wink and a wave of her hand, Mrs. Teltrin excused the pair from the classroom.

Once safely out of hearing range, Marta let out a low whistle. "We dodged a bullet there, eh Tink?"

Summer couldn't help but release a relieved laugh. "Yeah, she's really nice. I don't think any of our old teachers would have been so slack."

Marta nodded, but changed the subject. "What did Mullins want?"

Summer was about to open her mouth to tell her, when she saw Freddy and Zack approaching the two of them. Quickly, Summer said, "I'll tell you later."

Marta gave a look of comprehension, and when the pair of boys reached the girls, explained to Summer, "I'm going over to Freddy's right now… Do you want to come?" A look of scepticism overcame Marta's face. "It'll be me, Freddy… Zack, and Eleni."

Summer shook her head. "It's okay, I'm going to go home."

"You sure, Tinkerbell?" Zack said hesitantly.

"Quite sure." Summer didn't even bother looking at Zack as she responded. She parted with the group, saying, "Bye!" and went to go find her ride without her best friend.

----

The car ride home had been silent, except for the mandatory "Hello, how was school?" exchange. Summer left the car immediately after it was shut up, and proceeded to stomp all the way to her room.

She jumped onto her bed, and once she was sure her voice was muffled by her pillow, let out the longest chain of screams and curses she had ever put forth. _So not only has Eleni ruined my life, but now we have to find a guitarist and vocalist, pronto… Whoever said I wanted to be the God damned band manager?!_

Once the yelling finished, Summer immediately got up and made her way to her stereo. This time there was no contemplating what to put on, and she rifled through her collection of CDs, searching for the right one.

With this one, she wasn't only going to satisfy her own craving, oh no, she was going to blast Dewey and Zack at the same time.

"_Heal me, I'm heartsick, I'm hungry and I'm broken…_"

"Why? Why me? WHY ME?!" Summer slammed her fist once again onto her comforter as tears pricked in the corner of her eyes.

As the words to No Vacancy's only hit rang so incredibly true, Summer hoped with all her might that her best friend would have the sense to phone her once she got home.

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**A/N** - Hopefully that was okay. If any of you care, I actually did create a seating plan, so if you want to see it, I'll be posting it up on my website soon. If you're interested, it'll be up in my bio... Anywhosers, please review, thanks guys!! 


	9. Written on Paper

**Note:** Chapter 9 edited! (July 18 04)

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**Chapter 9 -Written on Paper**_  
  
Dear Diary,_

Well, it's been a week since the first day of school…I'm starting to get used to Zack and that girl, but they go everywhere _together. I try to look right into Zack's eyes, and sometimes it looks to me like he could take or leave Eleni… Like, he doesn't like what she does, but he doesn't not like it either, you know? Eleni always shoots me looks. I think somehow she figured out that I like Zack, and I wouldn't doubt that she's dating him just to spite me. I remember back in fourth and fifth grades, I was really close with Eleni and Michelle. But once Dewey left, she was all, "We should just give up this whole band thing, Dewey was dumb, blah blah blah." After that I stopped hanging out with her, 'cause really, that was just the stupidest thing to say, right? It's like she's never forgiven me or something for ditching her. Or Twink, either, 'cause now she's my best friend instead of Eleni and Michelle. Whatever, I'm not going to waste any more valuable diary space on that cow._

I talked to the band about what Ms. Mullins said a couple days after it happened. It looked as though they were all feeling exactly how I was, especially Freddy. We set up a band practice for today at Lawrence's house at 5:00, so I still have about half an hour until me and Marta have to leave. I think today we're gonna decide whether we're going to just figure things out with the band members we already have, or if we're going to have auditions. I really, really, really, really don't want to hold auditions. But I have a feeling Freddy was right with what he said back in the summer… I don't think we have any other choice but_ to hold them. None of the guys in the band can sing, and no one can play guitar other than Zack. And me, I guess, but I'm not good enough. Uncle Roy's been helping me a lot though, he says I should look for some songs I want to learn, and then bring them back to him and he'll see if they're too tough or not._

Me and Marta haven't been as close these past couple weeks. I mean, I know she has Freddy and stuff now, and I'm really happy for her… I just kind of miss her being there 24/7, you know? Like, I could call her, and she'd be there, or I could run over to her house, and she'd be there… Most of the time I can call her and she's there, except sometimes Freddy's over and they're hanging out, so I wouldn't be able to go over… And sometimes she's just not home at all. I know I don't own her and stuff, so I really can't get mad… I guess it's just hard letting go of something you've had to yourself for so long. I guess this is how my dad feels when he says I can't date until I'm married.

Time to go to practice.

Summer

PS- know what I noticed a couple days ago? Zack's the only person that calls me "Tinkerbell," and not "Tink." I think I like it that way.

----

As Summer and Marta stepped out of Mrs. Hale's SUV, they noticed that the whole band had already arrived for practice.

"Shit," muttered Marta under her breath, as she realized that not only was the whole band there, but there was a partially uninvited guest in Lawrence's garage as well. "Zack invited Eleni again."

Summer rolled her eyes. She had gotten used to seeing the pair together, and although it tore her up inside, she realized that Marta had been right: showing her emotions would only egg Eleni on more.

"Hello, ladies," said Freddy in an extremely cheesy voice, as he swept Marta up in his arms for a quick peck.

Katie let out a snort, and with a quick glance, Summer recognized the face the bassist was making: it was the one that Summer had been trying not to make for the past week, an image of hurt and bitterness. She smiled at Katie, who looked back in mild confusion.

"Okay," Summer started, looking at the whole group, "let's get this show on the road. Circle of love, people."

Once the group got into their ceremonial circle, Summer brought out her clipboard. "Okay, any orders of business anyone wants to bring up?"

Lawrence put up his hand. "I am very sorry that I had said we were able to use my garage as a place to practice, but my family has told me they do not want us using it anymore."

"Perfect!" exclaimed Zack. Summer's head whipped around to look at the guitarist. "Perfect" was the last word on her mind.

Zack explained. "I was going to have an order of business too. I was talking to my mom the other day, and she said that we could use _my_ garage to practice in if at any time we couldn't practice here at Lawrence's."

"Awesome, dude," said Freddy. "It's settled then, Zack's house for practices?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, totally, except there's a couple things. Practices can only be on Tuesdays or Thursdays, and we have to be out of there by 8:00."

"Why?" Katie asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Because… We just need to," came Zack's short response.

"Okay, then, how about we set an actual day for all our practices, so we know for sure?" Marta suggested. "Hands up for Tuesday."

Four hands went up. "Okay, majority rules, School of Rock practices are now on Tuesdays," said Summer. "Is… 4:30 okay with everyone? That gives us at least a couple hours of practice time, plus talking and set-up and take-down time."

"I think it sounds perfect," came a voice from the back of the room. Eleni flashed a grin at Zack.

"Thanks, doll, but I was sort of looking for the _band's_ opinion on it, seeing as it's a _band_ practice we're talking about," shot Summer, sarcasm dripping off of her words. "Funny how that works."

Eleni clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk, Tinkerbell, a bit jealous, aren't we?"

Summer felt her face go red. _I'm better than this_, she thought. "Whatever, I have no time for your idiocy --"

"Hey," said Zack tentatively, "careful."

Both Summer and Marta shot their narrowed eyes at Zack, but both chose not to speak.

Summer cleared her throat. "Anyway, here's the big item of the day. We need to find a guitarist and male vocalist soon, so we can start practicing for the Christmas dance."

Freddy spoke up. "There's nothing we can do but audition people." He seemed to have noticed the pained expressions from his band mates, because he went on. "Hey, don't give me that shit, do you think I want some new prick in our band? Hell no, but what other choice do we have?"

Zack sighed. "I guess so. But where are we going to advertise the auditions? Are we only going to look through school, or what?"

"I think it is best to only go through school," said Lawrence. "That way, there is a larger chance that we will know if they are a good person, or if they will tamper with our friendships."

Katie nodded her head. "Totally… We could get some total creepers if we auditioned people outside of school."

"Then it's settled?" Summer's sentence came out as more of a question. "We're advertising the auditions at school? When are we going to hold them, first of all?"

"I say we put up posters tomorrow, and then have them come in at our next practice, which is next week at Zack's, right? That gives them a week to figure out what they're going to do," suggested Freddy.

"Perfect!" Marta beamed up at her boyfriend.

"Lawrence!" The conversation in the garage was interrupted by Mrs. Tang's voice coming from outside of their headquarters. "Come here, please!"

"One moment," said Lawrence, as he walked quickly out of the room. When he came back, he was holding a manila envelope.

"My mother said a man dropped this off. She believed it was Dewey, except his hair was trimmed and he had no beard."

"Pfft," muttered Freddy, "wouldn't doubt it was him, trying to kiss ass for his new band."

"Why don't you open it, Lawrence?" asked Marta.

And so he did.

Dear Larry,

I sent this to you because I was sure you wouldn't throw it out How've you been? I hope you've been rockin' out with the band, as per us (A/N: "us" and as in short for "usual," get it?)_. I've been doing okay, getting ready for my flight out to SoCal. The band I'm gonna check out is rockin', man, they're called _Lunch Red Syndrome_… Totally awesome._

Anyway, I was just hoping that you could pass on a message to the rest of the band. I hope you guys are still practicing and rocking out like we always did, because y'all have way too much going for you to not_ be playing. Everything went all weird when I told you about the move to Cali, and I left right away, so I wanted to give you guys a bit of time to cool down before I told you this: I'm totally sorry for quitting on you guys. But, you gotta admit, I was bringing you guys down. Y'all are reaching your high, and I'm on my way down, so I just thought that maybe it'd be a good idea to take _LRS' _offer to try out, you know? I'm here until Saturday, my flight's at 3 in the afternoon… So if you guys wanna get a hold of me, you know where I live._

Thanks for your help, Larry, good luck, and don't forget the handshake.

The Dewster

Zack snorted once he finished reading the letter. "As if. What the fuck's this about _him_ bringing _us_ down? Spaz, didn't you already tell him that we knew he was quitting 'cause he thought it was the other way around?"

Freddy was looking at the letter with a look of disgust. "Of course I did, 'cause it's true. Whatever, this guy's a total fucking sell-out. I've had enough of his bullshit."

Katie spoke up. "Well, he's right, isn't he?" Everyone, including Eleni, looked at Katie as though she had five heads. "We _do_ know where he lives, don't we?" The looks didn't change. Katie sighed. "Listen, I'm going to write him back, and if you guys want to write a letter with me, then all the better. He's been the one mouthing off to us the whole time, I think it's our turn."

Looks of comprehension began to cross the teenagers' faces. "Perfect, Katie," Summer said as she spoke for the band, "Let's get started. It's not like we can practice without two people missing anyway."

----

"I said, shut up!" hissed Freddy as he tiptoed down the hallway of Dewey's apartment. Lawrence immediately stopped his nervous babbling.

It had been Summer who had thought of the cruel irony in sending Freddy and Lawrence to slip the band's letter to Dewey under his door, simply because it had been the same pair that went to wake him up before the Battle of the Bands way back when. Everyone had agreed to it right away, even if Dewey wouldn't know who had put the letter there.

"Okay," said Freddy, "On 'three.' One… Two… Three." At that moment, Freddy slipped the same manila envelope Dewey had sent underneath the apartment door, as Lawrence knocked simply, three times. Quickly, the two then ran back down the hallway to the waiting band members outside the building, and skirted back to Lawrence's house.

----

"What's going on here?" Dewey exclaimed in confusion, as he realized no one was at the door. As he turned to go back to the TV, he felt the envelope under his foot, and bent to pick it up. On the front of it, he saw his own printing, "Lawrence" scrawled across the envelope. However, it had been scratched out rather forcefully, and instead, Summer's neat writing read, "Mr. Finn."

Swallowing hard, Dewey sat back down on the couch, as he opened the letter to read Summer's writing dictate what his former band mates wanted to say to him.

Dear Mr. Finn,

Finally, our turn to talk to you. We were all going to write and send you individual letters, but we decided to pool our thoughts, since most of them are the same, and send you one simple one.

First of all, we don't believe you. Freddy told you on the day you quit, and we'll tell you again now: we know that you're not quitting because you're not good enough for us: it's because we're too young and people don't take you seriously while you're in a band of fifteen-year-olds. Why didn't you just tell us that? At least that way we'd still have some respect for you. You told Zack back in fifth grade that he wasn't allowed to have any "secret songs." Well, we're telling you that you're not allowed to have any "secret reasons," either. We were all best friends, and you don't lie to your best friends.

Wasn't it you that told Zack that "rock is about the passion?" That "you have to feel it in your blood and guts?" And that your old band was (and we quote), "a bunch of wannabe corporate sell-outs?" What do we call you, then? Aren't you a sell-out as well, leaving the band that you brought together, and moving across the country for a band that you said yourself will probably hit it big? You don't even know if you'll make it into this stupid band, but you're still leaving.

The one good thing we have to say about you, is that you started all of this. You came into our classroom and taught us what real music was. Can you believe some of the stuff we used to listen to? So you changed all that for us, and you brought us together. All of the kids in the band, plus the manager, are all now best friends, and so was Tomika before she moved, and Alicia before she quit. And even though we don't talk to the roadies and security and groupies as much as we did in fifth grade, we're still really close with them. You gave us a special experience that completely opened up our eyes to a totally different paradigm, and I guess we thank you for that.

Even if you were a bit of an idiot for pretending to be Schneeb (A/N: not a typo, I've decided that's Ned's nickname)_, and you were a bit of a loser, you were still a role model for every single one of us. We looked up to you, and we took in everything you said as if we were all dry sponges._

Zack practically worshipped you, and so did Freddy. You were totally cool, and they wanted to be as musically in tune as you are. But you completely wrecked that vision for them.

More than hurt, we're insulted. And more than insulted, we're sad. We're auditioning people for a back-up guitarist and male vocalist next week, because when you dropped out, we lost both. Now we have to take two new people into our band. Who knows what they'll be like?

So, whatever happens, happens, we guess. We'll be looking out for these Syndrome_ people, and see if they were worth giving us up._

_School of Rock_

_PS- Eleni says hi._

_

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_

**A/N **- Hopefully that was all good. Just a couple of things: in reality, I believe that Summer's diary entry and the letter to Dewey would have a few "shortcut" type spelling errors and stuff like that, but for reading sake, I just made easy for us all. And plus, I didn't spend half an hour trying to decide what to spell wrong.

"Rock is about the passion," "you have to feel it in your blood and guts," and, "a bunch of wannabe corporate sell-outs" are all direct quotes from "School of Rock" that belong to Mike White.

And, lastly, the name of the band Dewey's trying out for, _Lunch Red Syndrome_, came from the "Band Name Creator" found at the Official SoR Movie Site. I tried to fill in the blanks as I thought Dewey would have!

So, anyway, please review, tell me what you think! Thanks!!


	10. Jam Sessions

**Note: **Chapter 10 edited! (July 18 04)

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**Chapter 10 - Jam Sessions**

"Damnit!" Summer gave a frustrated sigh as she looked down helplessly at her combination lock. She had been distracted all day, barely paying attention in any of her classes, she had promised herself that she'd bug the notes off of Marta, once they had put up the audition posters.

She obviously still was distracted, though, seeing as she couldn't remember her combination. _No posters are going up until I can remember this stupid thing!_ thought Summer desperately. Her, Marta and Katie had gotten together after practice the night before, much to Katie's burden, and together made twenty-five posters to stick up all over both the elementary and secondary wings of Horace Green. The band had decided that since they were only ten when they realized what rock was, there was a chance there were some other young children that were the same.

The posters, however, were all in the unopened locker.

"2-16-34," came a voice to Summer's right, which she automatically knew belonged to Alicia.

Summer looked confused. "How did you know?" she asked, fiddling with her lock.

Alicia shrugged as a smirk traced her lips. "Well, you're not very discreet when you unlock your locker most of the time, so I can usually see."

"Huh…" was all Summer could say to this as her lock clicked open.

"So," continued Alicia, "I hear you're auditioning new people…"

Summer couldn't bring herself to look at her ex-band mate as she replied. "Yeah, nothing special though… You know Dewey quit, right?"

"Through a friend of a friend," said Alicia. "What positions are you auditioning for?" she asked, seemingly trying to sound nonchalant.

This was the part Summer wasn't looking forward to. She swallowed hard, looking at the back of her open locker. "Oh, you know, nothing much, just a male vocalist and a guitar player."

Alicia waited to respond, as if anticipating more words from Summer's mouth. When she realized Summer was finished, her eyes narrowed and lips formed an angry sneer.

"Oh? _Male_ vocalist? So it's a good thing I left then, because my position obviously wasn't important enough to replace."

Summer's eyes widened. "No, no, no, it's not like that!" When it came to thinking on her feet, Summer excelled. Come up with an outright lie, however, was a different story. "We thought that we could never really fill your position again, so we decided to just… leave it?" The end of the sentence came out as more of a question than a statement, cementing Alicia's assumption.

Alicia gave Summer a short, pointed look. "I'm not even going to grace that with a response. Bye."

Summer grabbed Alicia's retreating hand. _She can hate Marta as much as she wants, but I don't want her to hate me too._ "Listen Alicia, after Dewey quit, that was 3 people gone within a couple months… We couldn't carry on the way we had been going… We've decided to move in a bit of a different direction, with two lead singers, a girl and a guy, instead of a lead and three back-ups, get it?"

Alicia rolled her eyes and she pulled her hand out of Summer's grasp. "Whatever, Tink. Tell the band I say thanks for nothing." And with that, Alicia turned and walked away.

"Well she sure had something up her ass, eh?" Marta's voice came from behind Summer. Summer turned around to see the smirk on her friend's face as she walked up to her. "Whatever, she deserves it. '_Lead back-up'_ my butt."

Summer couldn't help but smile as well. "Where's Katie?"

Marta shrugged. "She's over by the chick's room. I told her I was going to get you at your locker, and she went all cold, saying she'd wait there. She's been a bit of a witch since school started."

Summer rolled her eyes at Marta's oblivious nature, and didn't answer her friend's inquisitive look. Instead, she began to head over to the girls' bathroom with the posters in her hand.

----

"Well it's not like _I_ was paying attention, do you think I actually care about the Cell Theory, Tink?" Marta asked as her and Summer walked up the Hathaway's driveway.

Summer sighed. _Stupid of me to assume she'd take notes, I guess_. "Guess not, eh?" she answered as she unlocked the front door.

"I mean, if it had of been something interesting, like marine biology or something, I would have been all over it, but --" Marta stopped mid-sentence as she walked into the Hathaway's living room.

Summer followed Marta's eye line and realized exactly what had stopped her from talking. Sitting on the tan leather couch was Summer's mom… and Mrs. Mooneyham.

Summer was used to her parents having people over. They were both very sociable people, and often had little dinner parties with their friends and neighbours. They both also often had clients over, her mom being a psychiatrist, and her dad a high school councillor at a school over the bridge. But Summer, in this case, didn't know what to make of Zack's mom sitting on her living room couch.

"Hi mom… Mrs. Mooneyham." She forced out, as Marta also waved at the two.

Mrs. Hathaway smiled at Summer and Marta. "Good afternoon girls! There's a bit of a snack on the kitchen counter if you want." The girls nodded and slowly started to make their way to the kitchen. "Summer, if you'll please stay off of the main floor, Laura just came over for a bit of a talk."

Summer nodded her retreating head and she walked numbly in to the kitchen, grabbed the snack, and ran up to her room. Marta ran right after her, closing and locking the bedroom door behind them.

"Holy. Shit," was all Marta could say. "Has Mrs. Mooneyham every come over before?"

Summer slowly shook her head. "No… never. But it sounds like either my mom's good friends with her, or she's been a client for a while. My mom never calls new clients by their first names."

"Well, if they've been friends for a while, don't you think you'd've heard something about it?" Marta reasoned.

Summer shrugged. "I don't know." She shook her head, as if trying to rid herself of any thoughts. "This is too weird."

"Defini--" Marta was once again interrupted.

"Sum, come here for a sec, please," Mrs. Hathaway beckoned from the landing.

Summer sighed and lifted herself off of her bed to meet her mom's request. "Yeah, mommy?"

"Maybe, instead of you and Marta shutting yourselves up in your room, you guys could hang out with Zack? He's in the basement."

Summer tried to cover up the surprise obviously creeping across her facial features. "Sure thing. Just give us a sec."

Mrs. Hathaway smiled up at her daughter before leaving the landing.

Summer walked back into her bedroom and explained the situation to Marta. Her friend couldn't help but let out a squeal. "But I don't understand! Why's he here and not at home? Couldn't he take care of himself?"

Summer shrugged for the umpteenth time that day. "Who knows. This just gets more and more peculiar."

Marta immersed herself in thought for a moment before her lips formed a devilish grin. "Well, this is my cue to leave, then, isn't it?"

Summer felt her eyes practically pop out of her head. "You _can't_ go! I can't be here alone with him! Who knows if I'll be able to hold myself back?!"

It was Marta's turn to shrug as she got up to leave the room. "You're right dude. Who _does_ know? All _I_ know, is that I'm leaving you two alone. Catcha later!"

Summer groaned and fell back on her bed. She stayed in that position for a good five minutes, before finally pulling herself up and forcing herself to travel down to the basement.

As she walked down the stairs, she began to hear a tune, and as Zack came into view, she saw he was sitting with one of his numerous guitars, this one a glossy black acoustic, trying to figure out a tune.

"Hi."

Zack looked up from his instrument. When he saw Summer, he smiled. "Hey Tinkerbell. Nice place."

Summer chuckled. Throughout the past week, she had almost convinced herself that there was no logical explanation as to why she had liked School of Rock's guitarist so much. What had made it so easy to believe is that he was never out of range of Eleni, and her slightly nasal voice was enough to turn anyone off.

But now, when it was just the two of them, the feelings began to rush back to Summer. As she walked towards him, she took in his appearance. His hair was at that perfect length, where it seemed to tease his eyelashes, and completely cover his ears. He had on a simple, slim-fitting black golf shirt, showing off his two silver chains he always wore around his neck. His blue jeans seemed to fit him perfectly, and the black Converse high-tops on his feet had his friends' writing all over them, giving them just enough personality.

Summer smiled as she looked at his shoes, finally finding her own writing right below the laces. Her smile quickly faltered as she realized she was still in her school uniform. As she sat down beside him, she tried to joke about it, saying, "Well, my fashion sense clearly exceeds yours."

It was Zack's turn to laugh. "Oh, by miles."

Summer tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "So… What are you doing here? Did you come with your mom?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, she asked if I wanted to get out of the house, and I said yes. I didn't want to stay home alone with my --" He stopped himself. "I just wanted to get out of the house."

Summer was incredibly curious at Zack's unfinished sentence, but didn't pry. "Cool." After a few awkward, silent moments, Zack took up his guitar and began strumming again. After playing around with a few chords, he sighed. "I've been trying to write a tune for this song I wrote for a couple weeks now, but I can't seem to come up with anything."

"Can I hear it?" Summer asked.

Zack shrugged. "Sure, but it sounds like ass." And with that, he began playing an obviously unfinished tune. When he stopped, obvious frustration on his face, Summer decided to finally speak up.

"There's a couple spots where you could try different things."

Zack looked at her curiously. "Oh? Where?"

Summer took in a deep breath. _Please, don't let me sound like a dumbass, please don't let me sound like a dumbass… PLEASE…_ "Well, there was one part near the beginning… I think you played a C chord… An A minor might sound better."

Zack's look of curiosity only grew more intense. "Where?"

Summer shrugged. "Near the beginning…" She still didn't know how to explain what she meant. "In the first… Thirty seconds?"

Zack nodded and started playing the tune again, until he realized he knew what Summer was talking about, and replaced the offending C with an A minor. Much to Summer's relief and avail, it sounded a lot better.

Zack smiled, but still looked rather inquisitive. "How did you know…?"

Summer looked out the window, at the stairs, anywhere but directly at Zack. "Oh, well, I play guitar a bit… I've been taking lessons from my uncle."

Summer had imagined what his reaction might be like, but it wasn't anything like what came out. "Summer! That's amazing! Why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you tell me?"

Summer fought back a huge grin. "I haven't told anyone… I'm not that good, there was no point in saying anything."

Zack handed Summer the guitar, a determined look on his face. "Play me something."

Summer tried not to panic. She turned to Zack, saying, "No, no, no thanks, I'll just embarrass myself."

"Summer," Zack began pointedly, looking straight into the girl's eyes. "Look who you're talking to. You don't need to try and impress me. I'm sure you're just totally exaggerating, anyway, as always," he said, finishing with, "and if you do screw up, well, I won't tell."

Summer tried her hardest not to slip off of her chair at his sincere words. She nodded. "What should I play?"

Zack looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you know 'School of Rock?'"

"Yup."

"Then let's hear it."

Summer took in a large breath, trying desperately to relax herself. This was the one song she practiced the most, and she began inwardly praying to the heavens above that she wouldn't fall flat on her face.

As she played, Zack's face showed amazement, then contentment, then sheer happiness, and he jumped up and started singing the chorus, looking like a total fool.

When Summer stopped playing, Zack turned around hastily to face her. "Holy shit, Summer, that was amazing. I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

Summer felt herself turning red. "I'm not that good, believe me --"

"We can jam! We can have sessions! It'll be awesome!"

Summer couldn't help but smile. "Don't tell anyone, 'kay?"

Zack looked at the girl incredulously. "Are you _joking_?"

Summer shook her head. "No. Please, Zack, don't, alright? If you want me to jam with you…"

Zack groaned, but complied. "Fine, I won't tell. But I'm telling you, Tinkerbell, if and when the band finds out, they'll be pissed to know we had to find a new guitarist when there was an awesome one right here."

Summer bit her lip in an attempt to hold back her giddiness. "Shut up!" Neither of them said anything for a moment, until Summer broke the silence.

"You know, you weren't lying way back when - you really aren't that much of a singer, are you?"

Zack smirked. "Don't get me started, princess '_Memory_'…"

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**A/N** - Hopefully you guys liked that fairly lengthy Summer/Zack scene there... I sure did wink wink ... Okay, I really need y'all to review, 'cause I need to know now: **is anyone interested in a sequel to this story?** I know it's fairly early, as **this story's still going to have another 7 or 8 chapters**, but I've decided that I'm going in a different direction if there's going to be a sequel than if this is just going to stay as one story... So please, review, tell me what you thought of this chapter, and if you want to see more after "You Never Know." Thanks guys!!

Also, quickly, the last line in the chapter is a reference to the song "Memory" by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It's sung by Summer in SoR, of course!


	11. Nighttime Antics

Chapter 11 - Nighttime Antics

Summer sighed in frustration as she turned over in her bed. Looking at her bedside alarm clock, she noticed the time: 1:32am. She shifted onto her back and stared blankly at the white ceiling. _1:30 on a school night and no sleep. Exactly what I need._

Summer didn't usually have a problem going to sleep, in fact, most of the time it was just a matter of turning off the light. This time, however, the lights were off, yet Summer was wide awake.

She really couldn't blame herself, though. It wasn't as if that day had been exactly normal.

After Summer had finally admitted to Zack that she could play guitar, he had shown her some original material that he swore he hadn't shown anyone yet. _It was as though he was keeping them secret just to spite Dewey_, Summer thought with a smirk.

Zack had told Summer that he didn't have any lyrics other than for the first song she had heard, but she had a feeling that he had just been too embarrassed to say anything about them.

Summer smiled in the dark as the afternoon flashed through her mind once again. Zack and his mom had stayed at the Hathaway's almost until dinnertime. Summer's mom had extended an invitation to stay for supper to the pair, but Mrs. Mooneyham declined, saying her husband would be wondering where they were.

Although Summer had thoroughly enjoyed her evening with Zack, she knew it was a bit of a bittersweet contentment. Eleni hadn't come up in conversation once, and Summer had barely thought of her at all since she went downstairs to see Zack. The two guitarists had hung out as if nothing had come between them, like they would have back near the beginning of their summer vacation.

It hurt Summer to know that the next day, or rather, in a few hours, things would go completely back to normal once they stepped back into school: Eleni would cling to Zack as if he were life support, and Zack wouldn't do anything about it. Summer would not only feel hurt, but out of place, and she knew that she wouldn't talk to either of the couple if she could avoid it.

Marta had completely agreed with Summer when the raven-haired girl had called her best friend right after the Mooneyhams left her house.

---------------

"I wonder if he has such good times with Eleni…" Marta wondered out loud over the phone.

Summer groaned. "I don't even want to think about what they do in private."

Marta snorted. "Oh, pah-lease, Tink, don't be such a gross-out. You see how he acts around her at school. You'd think if they were doing… Stuff… He'd be a little bit more affectionate with her," Marta said. "…Unless, of course, she completely sucked at it all…"

"Marta!" Summer scolded, laughing in spite of herself. "Shut up! And how would you know, anyway? From experience, I'm guessing?"

"Well…"

Summer grimaced. "Okay, I wasn't ready for that. Maybe on a day my stomach can take it, we'll talk about you."

Marta laughed, but changed the subject. "I'm really happy for you, you know that, right? It's just… Well, don't be surprised if he acts like nothing happened tomorrow. I mean, even though he doesn't shower her with kisses, Eleni has Zack wrapped around her ugly little finger."

Summer sighed. "I know."

---------------

Even still, though, Summer couldn't help but think about Zack. She had always thought that the boy was incredibly good looking… _But today, he was just immaculate_. Summer had a thing for polo and golf shirts, and she had never seen Zack where one before. Looking back, it was a good thing Summer could keep a firm hold on herself, because the boy of her dreams suit the style really, really well.

After a couple more minutes filled with feeble attempts at sleep, Summer looked at her clock again, and when she saw that it read "1:47am," she decided to take action. She grunted as she pulled herself out of her bed, and headed downstairs, ever so quietly, to the kitchen.

Thank God for quiet technology, Summer thought, as she stuck her glass of milk into the microwave.

When she was younger and hadn't been able to fall asleep, Mrs. Hathaway had always come into Summer's room with a glass of warm milk, and for whatever reason, it always did the trick. Warm milk hadn't been needed since the second or third grade, but, alas, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Summer grabbed her warm glass once it was done heating, and slowly crept up the stairs, as quietly as she could. She was almost all the way to her bedroom when she heard someone moving behind the door to her parents' bedroom. _Shit_, Summer thought as she froze on the spot, hoping to God that whoever she had awoken didn't come out of the room.

Just when Summer was about to let out a (quiet) sigh of relief, the bedroom door slammed open, and Mrs. Hathaway ran to the bathroom. Summer was frozen once again, this time out of shock. She quickly got over it, though, and put her glass down by her door before making her way over to the bathroom.

Summer waited until she heard the toilet flush, and stepped back to let her mother out. When she did, Mrs. Hathaway looked quite pail and unsound.

"Mommy?" Summer said tentatively.

Mrs. Hathaway gave a slight jump, obviously oblivious to Summer being there. She turned around, saying, "Oh, sweetie, I didn't know you were there - what are you doing up?"

Summer ignored her mother's question. "Are you okay, mom?"

Mrs. Hathaway gave a small smile, comfort showing in her eyes. "I'm okay, love, I'm just feeling a bit below the weather, you know? I'll be perfectly fine." She paused, giving her daughter a hug. "You, on the other hand, will _not_ be fine at school tomorrow if you don't get in your bed within ten seconds!"

Summer laughed. "Gotcha, mom, I was just about to go straight there," she whispered, and with that, she said goodnight to her mom, and made her way back to her bedroom.

Summer sat on the edge of her bed, slowly sipping on her milk. It troubled her somewhat that her mom was sick - her parents never got sick. _Which means to them that I can never get sick either, seeing as I'm never allowed to miss school_, she thought with a small smirk.

After another couple minutes of sipping, Summer shook her head, trying to clear her mind of any thoughts. _She'll be fine_, she decided, and laid back down to fall asleep.

----

What the HELL is going on?! Summer groaned into her pillow. Afraid to look at her alarm clock, she tentatively raised her eyes towards her bedside table. _I can't believe this. 2:39am and zero minutes of sleep._ Summer punched her pillow in frustration.

Summer wouldn't classify herself as the type of person who believed it was against the law to be awake past midnight, but there came a point where still being awake was a bit ridiculous.

Summer looked around her room, stopping at her computer. _The stupid screen may make me sleepy_, she thought half-heartedly. She got up and made her way over to her computer chair, turning the machine on, rubbing her hands over her eyes.

Once the computer had loaded all its settings, Summer logged onto the internet, deciding to check her email. She yawned as the page loaded.

Once in her inbox, Summer realized she hadn't checked her mail all day, and was proven right when she saw seven new emails waiting for her: two forwards from Katie, one from Freddy, some junk from _E! Online_, an email from Tomika, and one from Marta.

Clicking on Tomika's email (which was addressed to everyone in the band, as well as Alicia and Dewey), she sat back to read.

hey yall

was sap? hows everyone doin? im here at my grammas house… its where me n my mum r staying for now before we find r own place. im going to dis public skool called Latchman High_… so gay. ive made a couple friends but nothing special…nothing like u guys, u no? the place is really centred on sports… theres one choir and it sux ass, so my mum said that maybe ill be able to join a choir outside of skool but it depends on how much money it costs._

im sending dis to alicia and dewey too cause theyre still part of da band in my eyes… alicia and marta, u guys no that ur fite was stupid n if I was there it wouldve never happened rite? don't let stuff like that get between yall cuz itll just tear yall apart

anyway ill talk to yall lata, tell me where u guys r practicing n maybe ill fone during a practice or something aight?

luv tom

Summer smiled. She knew that nothing bad would've happened between the two back-up singers if Tomika had still been in the state. Not only did she have tonnes of common sense, but she had the ability to sniff out a bad situation five minutes before anyone else could realize. _But even she couldn't have done anything to avoid Dewey's situation._ Summer decided to call Tomika later in the week to tell her about the letter the band had written to him.

Still happy to hear from Tomika, Summer clicked on Marta's email.

The happiness wasn't there for long.

omg tink u wont believe this

Spaz sent this to me... he said it was addressed to michelle, zack, freddy, lawrence, katie, gordon, billy, frankie, alicia…ya in case u were counting, that's THE WHOLE CLASS EXCEPT US… he still sent it to me tho n he told me to send it to u too… anyway ill talk to u about it tomorrow morning… shes such a bitch, summer!

twinkle

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From: whackemhard

To: ilovetosing

Subject: none

hey lovely whats goin on?? well i just got sent this from eleni n i thought id sent it to u since u weren't on the list... send it to tink to cuz shes not on it either... we'll crash this stupid thing!

ttyl love spaz

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From: _iluvbeingblonde_

To: _cutiepatootie__, __nexthendrix__, __whackemhard__, __lawrencetsai__, __ramoneschick__, __techtroid3000__, __billyfalduto__, __crusher28__, __scorpiochick___

Subject: BIRTHDAY PARTAE!!!!

_hey everybody!_

_how r u all doing?? i just wanted to invite u guys to my HUGE SUPER COOL BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!! its gonna be a BLAST and i hope u guys can come!! its september 30 at my house... my birthdays actually the 29th but were havin it the day after! it starts at 6 and goes till whenever and all the girls can sleepover!! i was gonna have the boys sleep over too (lol zack ;) ) but i wasn't allowed and it would be too complicated, so sorrrrry!!!!_

_Anyway, don't tell anyone that's NOT on the list cuz if theyre not on the address list up there then theyre not invited!! tell me if u can come at school, cya!_

_eleni_

Summer laughed. How stupid could Eleni be, sending that email to Freddy, and thinking he wouldn't send it to his own girlfriend? Indeed, Summer was furious, but the lack of brains in the blonde was to laughable to act mad. _Of course I'm going to go, just to show her up_. Her and Marta were going to make big, big plans for this party.

Summer made sure to save the email before turning off her computer. She was surprised at her own reaction to the news: anyone in their right mind would've thought that someone in Summer's situation would be absolutely furious. Nevertheless, the raven-haired girl felt like laughing. _Does she actually believe that everyone likes her enough to not tell us?_ _I bet two or three more people tell us tomorrow about the party._

Although Summer knew she should be really happy with Freddy that he thought of both his girlfriend and his best friend, the boy's gesture could only remind her of how Zack hadn't sent anything at all. _ He may be Eleni's boyfriend, but he was friends with us first._ Summer sighed. It hurt to know that Freddy cared more about her than Zack seemed too.

Summer shook her head to once again clear her mind as she climbed back into bed. The email was enough to make her extremely tired, like the final event of the day that made her exhausted.

As Summer rested her head on her pillow, finally ready to fall asleep, she couldn't help but smirk and say, "Now it's my turn, Eleni Afflerbach."

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**A/N** - Wow, this chapter is really, really slow, and I apologize for that. There's not much action, but believe me, it's an imporant chapter nonetheless. Thanks for all the awesome reviews, from everyone so far, and the support and all that - I will be doing a sequel to this story once I finish up!! I'll do a personal thanks next chapter! So, in the meantime, why don't y'all review again?? lol Thanks guys! 


	12. The Solution

**Note:** Okay, I say it's about time I thank some people, because everyone that has reviewed has really kept me committed to this story. So, in general, thank you all so, so, so much!! Especially for all the kind words! Which they pretty much all are, so I guess that goes without saying...

**rockin awesome x -** I'm glad you hate Eleni has much as I do, stay tuned, it gets so much better!! You'll want to laugh in her face... Or maybe that's just me.

**Sandy-Pandy** - Thanks so much, I try to update as often as I can!! Gimme a shout, tell me if I take too long!

**crazyknarf / you know who / sweeet** - Excellent, because I happen to love cheese!

**writerdude3000** - Thank you so, so much for all your kind words, and encouragement to get the hell going!! I've planned it all out, there's about 7/8 more chapters in "You Never Know" before I get on to a sequel, I hope that's okay!

**sonofpitchesfangirl** - I can't thank you enough for reviewing my story! I love all your stuff, and it's so great to know that you at least pretend to like mine too!

**Strokes** - I'm so flattered!! And I'm glad you've grown to hate Eleni, that means I'm doing my job ;) Thanks!!

**Nanners-77** - I say one of these days we just gang up on Eleni (and Michelle too)... You use the shovel, and I'll find some innanimate sharp object, and blow them to oblivion! lol... Or not. Thanks so much for always checking out my story!!

**MilleniumMarauder** - I love the idea, thanks for the suggestion!! It'll all come together soon!...

**sweetcaroline3313** - The sequel's a comin'! Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Laura** - Yeah! I'm glad you found it! I'm really happy you like it, and post yours soon, dummy!

**Xo Miss Riley Xo** - I'm so glad I haven't travelled so far as to make my story an angst tale.. I mean, nothing against angst, it's just that that's not what I want for _this_ story... Thank you so much for keeping me in check!

**chocl8chps** - I'm glad you like the Tink/Twink idea... You have no idea how long it took me, either! Thanks so much!

**DancingDreamer08** - It gets a lot better for Summer, don't worry; thanks for checking out my story!!

**mellowyellow36 **- Thanks so much for the encouragement!

****

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters: they all, along with School of Rock, belong to Mike White and Paramount Pictures. I own the plot and a couple names, but other than that, nada.

Oh, quickly, before I get on with the story (I know, I know, "SHUT UP!!"), I just wanted to bring up a bone that's been picked. Someone, who shall remain anonymous, as to their request, asked me what I had against blondes. Okay, let's get this straight: I'm a blonde. So I obviously have nothing against them, or else I'd just be contradicting myself to no end, yes? However, Summer Hathaway is _not_ me, she is a character (not mine, by the way: Mike White's), who's personality I have manipulated to have an immature distaste for people with blonde hair. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, but it really isn't meant to be read into! Okay, on with it!

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**Chapter 12 - The Solution**

"So, explain to me again why we're taking the bus home?" Marta said, annoyance apparent in her voice.

"It's not that complicated, Twink," explained Summer as they walked down the stone steps in front of Horace Green. "My mom was sick today… It's actually really gross, she said she puked, like, seven times last night. Anyway, she's working from home today, and her 1:30 may stay longer."

Marta pouted. "She wouldn't let her 1:30 run long if she had to pick us up."

Summer sighed. "She wouldn't pick us up either way, Marta. She'd either be with a patient, or squatting over the toilet, ready to throw up. Or both."

Marta grimaced. "She must be pretty comfortable with her patients if she can just be like, 'Excuse me, I have to vomit.'"

Summer laughed. "Yeah, I guess."

"So," said Marta, changing the subject, "did anyone tell you about Eleni's party?"

Indeed, everyone had gotten Eleni's email the day before, and it certainly showed at school.

A couple people, like Frankie and Alicia, didn't seem to want to tell Marta and Summer about the party, creating a bit of tension whenever any of them talked. Alicia wanted to keep it from the two for obvious reasons, Summer reckoned, and Frankie had always preferred Eleni and Michelle over Summer, so he definitely wouldn't tell them.

Katie and Lawrence, however, had bombarded the couple together right at the start of class, telling them about the party right away. _Eleni also seemed to forget that loyalties lie within the band, and not with annoying ditzes._

Summer had been glad the two band mates had told her and Marta about Eleni's little get-together, but in truth, they weren't the ones Summer was waiting for. All day, she had bore holes into the back of Zack Mooneyham's head, begging him silently to show _her_ priority over his girlfriend. She had almost given up hope, until about an hour before school ended.

---------------

"What's this?" Summer whispered. Zack, without turning around, had slipped a note onto her desk.

Zack only turned his head halfway around, and didn't take his eyes off Mrs. Teltrin, who was lecturing about Tibetan culture.

"Just read it," he hissed hastily. (A/N - alliteration unintended)

Summer snorted and gave Zack one of her looks, but he didn't notice, as he had already turned back around. Slightly insulted, Summer opened the note.

eleni's having a party at the end of september… u and marta weren't invited but i thought u should know. i never told u, k?

Summer stared open-mouthed at the note. If she had been slightly insulted before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now. The note wasn't only short, but it wasn't exactly the "hero's warning" she had been expecting.

---------------

"Tink? Hello?" Marta was waving her hand in front of Summer's face, her expression highly amused.

Summer shook her head. "Sorry. What was the question?"

Marta snorted. "Before you decided to fly off to Never Never Land, _Tinkerbell_, I had asked if anyone other than Katie or Lawrence told you about Eleni's party."

"Oh, right," said Summer. "Well, Zack sent me a note… Not exactly the support we were looking for, though…" Summer pulled the note out of her blazer pocket and handed it to Marta.

It didn't take long for Marta to read the miniscule scrawl, her face looking extremely scandalized.

"'_Thought you should know_?' What the hell? By the sound of that note, it's like he's only telling us because he has to, or something."

Summer nodded. "Exactly, like he didn't actually want to tell us."

Marta rolled her eyes, her pace becoming a little more aggressive. "What did you do after you read it?"

Summer scoffed, matching her pace with Marta's. "I did jack. You should have seen how he gave it to me - he practically threw it over his shoulder, and then acted as if he was embarrassed to talk to me."

Marta looked appalled at the news. "God, is this the same Zack Mooneyham that you jammed with yesterday?" She rolled her eyes. "I'm still mad you didn't tell me you could play, by the way."

Summer chuckled. "Yeah, yeah… Well, I knew we were hardly going to talk today, as usual, but I didn't know he was going to act as though he hated me."

Marta just shook her head. "Whatever dude… Shit, there's the bus. Run!"

----

"Okay, that's everyone," Summer noted as Katie ran into the garage.

"Sorry I'm late, guys, my brother had to drive me, and he couldn't find his keys," she apologized.

"No worries, people aren't going to show up until 5:00 anyway, we still have fifteen minutes,"

said Marta.

Katie looked at the girl with disdain. "Thanks," she said shortly.

"Break it up, you two," said Summer. "We have to figure out what we're going to do with the people waiting to audition while we're listening to someone else."

"That is if there _are_ any people waiting," Freddy pointed out.

"Let's be hopeful, okay?" Summer suggested. She was expecting a fair amount of people to show up for the School of Rock auditions. All week, she had seen groups of people huddling around the posters, and a couple times she could have sworn she heard conversations in the halls about what song people were going to try out with.

"Zack, do you have a table or something where we could all sit?" Marta asked.

Zack seemed immersed in thought for a moment. "There's a couple tables in the basement we could bring up that would seat all six of us… But it'll be risky, we have to get them downstairs again before 8:00, and exactly where we found them."

"Done," proclaimed Summer. "Zack and Freddy, go get the tables. I'll go find chairs."

"Yes, ma'am," answered Freddy, as he and Zack exited the garage.

"Ask my mom where the fold-up chairs are," Zack said before he left the room.

Summer made her way out of the garage door and up the front steps of the house. After knocking, she made her way through the open front door, and went to the kitchen, where Mrs. Mooneyham was sitting at the table, reading the paper.

Zack's mom looked up and smiled. "Hey, sweetie, how are you?"

Summer smiled politely. "I'm excellent, Mrs. Mooneyham, and yourself?"

"Oh, please, dear, call me Laura - 'Mrs. Mooneyham' makes me feel old."

Summer laughed. "Alright."

"What can I do for you, darling?"

"Oh," began Summer, "I was just wondering if you knew where any fold-up chairs were? We need six, if you have that many."

Laura nodded. "You bet we do, follow me, okay?"

As she got up from the table, Summer couldn't help but notice a large bruise on the side of

Laura's face. _Didn't she have one last time I was here, too? And right around the same spot?_

"Here you go, hun," Laura said. Summer quickly averted her eyes to the ten or fifteen chairs Zack's mom pointed out in a back closet.

Summer beamed. "Perfect, thanks so much!" She grabbed six, and pulled them back out to the garage, where Freddy and Zack were setting up the second of the two tables.

As Summer began to unfold the chairs, Katie and Lawrence ran into the garage. "There's a few people coming down the street with guitars," Katie stated, "I think they're headed for the auditions!"

Summer couldn't help but be excited. "Perfect! Places, people!"

----

"Thanks, we'll be in touch," Freddy droned for what felt like the billionth time.

The teens in School of Rock, whether or not they had admitted it, had all been a little excited to be holding the auditions. The idea of people trying to impress them was a bit of a spectacle, and they couldn't wait to get started. And Summer had indeed been right, there were a lot of people trying out for the two spots available.

Unfortunately, the people auditioning were slight disappointments. They all realized it was going to be a long couple hours when the third guitarist that came in tried to wow them with his own rendition of plucking the strings for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

Summer tried desperately to hide her frustration as yet another guitarist started to set up his amp. She leaned over to Lawrence, who was sitting beside her. "Could you go see how many people are left outside. Lawr?"

Lawrence nodded his head, and made his way quietly around the side of the garage. As she waited, Summer tried to block out the off-tune noise that was being emitted from the guitar in front of her. She looked at her fellow band mates, and saw she wasn't alone in her chagrin.

Lawrence appeared again, and quickly walked back to his seat. "There's approximately ten to fifteen people still waiting outside," he said.

Summer sighed in relief. _Almost over_.

As the boy, who said his name was Scott Hardy from ninth grade, finished his original song, Freddy let out a sigh.

"Thank you, we'll be in touch."

----

"What are the odds," Katie asked, massaging her forehead, "that out of seventy-three guitarists and singers, there is absolutely _no_ talent?"

Summer groaned in agreement. "That was painful. Painful _and_ useless."

Freddy's expression suggested he was about to lose his mind. "What do we do now? We still need a singer and guitar player, and pronto."

Marta tutted as she moved behind her boyfriend to give him a massage. "We'll figure something out, sweet pea."

"Don't call me that," he snapped.

"Calm down," Marta snapped right back. "I'm not a stress ball, don't take your frustration out on me."

A tense silence filled the room. Despite the mood, though, Summer had to hold back a laugh as she saw the smirk on Katie's face. _Her "Eleni" is Marta, and Katie acts the exact same way I do… We're not _that_ different…_

"…So?" exclaimed Freddy, obviously waiting for an answer. "What are we going to do?"

Summer glanced over at Zack, and was surprised to see him looking pointedly back at her. It took Summer a moment to realize why he was staring. _He wants me to say something about playing guitar_. Summer quickly looked away.

Lawrence let out a rare sigh. "It seems as though we will have to look for additions to the band outside of school."

Marta looked downcast. "Yeah,… So there isn't _anyone_ we know that could do the job?"

Silence overcame the garage once again. Summer couldn't look any of her band mates in the eye, feeling too guilty that she wasn't saying anything. _It's for their own good, though, right? I mean, if I start playing and can't deliver, they'll all hate me_.

Although she was looking down, Summer could sense Zack burning holes into the top of her head, he was staring at her so hard. Summer looked over at Marta: she was either performing very well, or hadn't made the connection between Summer and the guitar position.

Freddy yelled in disappointment, breaking the silence, before wrapping his arms around his head. "So, where are we going to put up posters now? I need answers, people."

"I'm band manager, I'll figure it out, Freddy," said Summer coaxingly. "We can put up posters at other schools and th--"

"Or we can _not_ put up posters at al," interrupted Zack boldly. "We don't need to audition another guitarist, we already have one."

Katie laughed. "Thanks, Tips, but we need _two_ guitarists, not one."

Zack rolled his eyes. He gave a look of slight apology to Summer before saying, "Summer can play the guitar."

Heads snapped every which way to look at Summer. A look of comprehension dawned on Marta's face. "Yeah, she can!"

"Are you good?" Freddy asked bluntly.

"She's awesome," answered Zack. "I mean, I'm still better, no offence, but I could always take the difficult parts… And plus, she has about twenty times the talent that the 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' guy had."

"You think she could play for the band?" Katie asked Zack.

Zack nodded. "Hell yes, man, no doubt."

Summer cleared her throat distinctively, bring the attention back to her. "Funny how _I'm_ the one being discussed, but as of yet I've had no say in the matter."

"Tinkerbell, listen to me," Zack said rather impatiently, "the only thing holding you back from wanting to be play in the band is your self-doubt. But you have to believe me what I say that you _have_ talent. You can do this."

Zack looked Summer straight in eye when he said this, sincerity radiating from his coffee-brown orbs. Summer opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out.

"Tink, if Zack says it…" began Marta. "Hands up for Summer to play in the band."

The vote was unanimous. _I can't believe this!_ "You guys have never even heard me play!"

"It's called having faith, Tink," replied Freddy, "and we have faith in you."

Summer hesitated. _There's no going back… Do or die._ "Alright."

"Yes!" exclaimed Katie with joy. "One down, one to go! And we didn't even have to reach outside of the band!"

Summer could see Zack smiling. His smile seemed to falter, however, when he looked at the clock in the garage. "God, guys, it's take-down time."

The members of School of Rock took to their assigned jobs: Zack and Freddy disassembled the tables for the trip to the basement, Katie and Summer began to fold and stack the chairs, while Marta and Lawrence started to put away the instruments.

Soon after the chairs were put away, a honk could be heard outside. Katie looked quickly. "Oh, that's my broth--" She stopped herself, her eyes going wide. "Oh my God… My brother!" She rushed out of the garage.

Before Summer and Marta could so much as exchange confused glances, Katie was back in the room. This time, though, she looked a lot more excited, letting out a squeal.

"What's up with Posh?" asked Freddy, looking apprehensive, as he and Zack re-entered the garage.

Katie was getting giddy. "Guys, my brother's band broke up about a month ago, and he did back-up vocals. What would you say to him being the singer for School of Rock?" She bit her lip in anticipation.

No one said anything for a moment. "What were their influences?" Zack asked hesitantly.

"Umm…" Katie started. "…Well I know his favourite bands are Cream and the Ramones."

"Cool dude," said Freddy. "What's his name? Can you bring him down to practice next week?"

"His name's Kaleb, but everyone calls him Kale. I'll ask him if he can come, but he has no life, it shouldn't be a problem!"

"How old is he?" Summer asked. A car beeped outside.

"Seventeen, grade twelve. When he was younger, the parentals couldn't afford Horace Green, so he's in the public system." Katie looked at the group nervously. "So, whaddya think?"

Lawrence beat everyone to it. "Perfect."

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**A/N** - My longest chapter yet! How was it? I hope it was okay and I didn't ramble on for too long. Next chapter: Summer and Kale's first practice! And after that... Well, we'll see!! Please review, tell me what y'all think! And thanks so much once again! 


	13. You Didn't Want It

**Note: **Chapter 13 edited! (July 22 04)

Don't you guys hate that stupid word counter when you upload your chapters? I wish they wouldn't count how many words there are, it makes me feel like my shorter chapters are just too short. And that was my confession for the day.

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters: they all, along with School of Rock, belong to Mike White and Paramount Pictures, except for Kaleb Brown and Mrs. Teltrin. They're mine. I also own the plot and a couple names, but other than that, nada.

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**Chapter 13 - You Didn't Want It**

Ding dong.

"Coming!" Summer called to whoever was behind the front door. There was no doubt in her mind, though, as she rushed down the stairs, that it was Marta.

Indeed, Marta was smiling as the door opened. "My mom can drive us."

"Hey to you too," said Summer with a smirk. "Come with me upstairs, I need to grab my guitar."

Marta smiled in anticipation as she stepped into the house. "Where is it? I've never seen it before."

Summer shrugged as they ran up the stairs. "It's nothing special. My uncle Roy gave it to me for my birthday, back in May." She opened a closet across from the staircase. She moved a couple blankets and towels to reveal her guitar.

"Wow," Marta revered. The guitar was a glossy acoustic, light wood with a dark, marbled pick guard. It had an unusual shape, one that would be associated with an electric guitar. "That's _awesome_."

Summer smiled proudly, looking down at her prized birthday present. A loud honk outside brought the two girls back down to Earth. "Oops," said Marta, "my mom's waiting for us… You ready for your first practice?"

Summer smiled, a determined look on her face. "Bring it on."

----

The car ride to Zack's house seemed to take forever for Summer, who was incredibly anxious to see what the band would think.

As she looked out the window, she tried to imagine different reactions. She could see Lawrence's neutral expression turning sour in discontent at Summer's abilities, or lack thereof. She could imagine Freddy's thoroughly disappointed face, looking ready to kill, or Zack's--

"What do you think this new guy'll be like?" Marta inquired, interrupting Summer's sinking thoughts.

Summer took her eyes off the window, and directed them to Marta. "I don't know… I think him and Katie are pretty close, so he can't be _that_ bad."

Marta nodded, now turning her eyes towards the window. "True... I hope he's cute."

Summer's jaw dropped as she looked appalled at her best friend. "You have a _boyfriend_," she hissed.

Marta giggled, but said nothing. Summer shook her head again.

Summer was no psychic, she couldn't read minds. However, her and Marta were best friends for a reason. She chose her words carefully before addressing Marta. "Twink, just remember how happy you were when you found out Freddy liked you back. Remember how you told me that you have never been this content before."

"What are you saying, Summer?" Marta asked innocently.

Summer rolled her eyes. "Just… Be careful."

----

Summer closed the car door behind her, just as the Mooneyham's garage opened. As Zack's figure appeared in the garage, he waved.

"You guys are the first to get here, other than Freddy," he said in greeting to the pair.

Freddy made his way from the back of the garage, and after giving Summer a wave, picked up Marta in a hug and gave her a rather intimate kiss, which she readily returned.

Zack made a noise of impatience and turned to Summer. "You ready?"

"Oh yeah," she replied, biting her lip. "Just nervous."

Zack shook his head. "Don't be," he said.

"So the plan today is for the band to check out Kale, right?" Marta asked, pulling away from Freddy. Freddy scowled.

Zack nodded. "You bet."

A car slowed to a stop in Zack's driveway. Lawrence promptly exited the vehicle, and with the help of his father, brought his keyboard into the garage. "Hi guys," Lawrence said, as his father walked back to the car, "where shall I put my keyboard?"

"Over there." Zack pointed to a certain part of the garage. "Right to the left of the drums."

As the group began to set up the keyboard and microphones, a loud engine could be heard making its way down Zack's street. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch a copper brown clunker park in Zack's driveway, Katie waving from the front passenger seat.

"Hi guys!" she exclaimed, as she got out of the car. As the driver's side opened, Katie said, "This is Kale!"

Summer had a hard time keeping her mouth closed when Kaleb made his way out of the car. _Wow_. The boy had black hair, which was long enough to look messy, but short enough not to look unkempt. He was wearing a tight fitting black shirt which simply read "White Room," and a pair of faded jeans with rips in both knees. Summer's eyes finished with his black and pink Adidas.

"Hi," said Marta in a wondrous whisper.

"Hey," said Kale, as he took in his new practice space. "So, this is it, huh?"

Katie whacked him in the stomach. "Shut up." She turned to the group. "I told him about the band after our last practice, and he was cool with it, he's heard 'School of Rock' before, and he helped me out when we had to practice 'Hardcore' back in grade five, so I know he likes the stuff."

Kale nodded. "It's not bad, I like it more than what my old band used to play. I did back vocals and bass, but Katie won't let me take her spot."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Duh." She walked in to the garage, beckoning Kale to come with her, who slowly complied. "So, how's this going to work?" she asked.

It seemed as though no one really knew. "Umm…" started Summer, "…Do you know the words to 'School of Rock?'"

Kale nodded.

"Perfect. Then… Maybe you and Marta can sing together, and then we can figure out when we want solos and when we want both of you singing, sound good?"

Kale nodded again, Marta just stared at Kale.

"And Summer, are you okay with Dewey's guitar?" Katie asked.

It was Summer's turn to nod. "Yeah… Let's get started."

----

An hour later, it seemed that both Zack and Katie had made the right choice, suggesting the two new people who should be in the band. Summer, despite her ominous thoughts, was frankly a lot better than anyone could have imagined. She was quite proud of herself, even if there were still a couple parts she couldn't do. Zack had taken both solos, but that was fine with Summer. _More time staring at his butt while he's up front_.

After their seventh time going through "School of Rock," Summer felt pretty happy with her own play, and with Marta and Kale's collaboration. She was about to open her mouth to congratulate everyone, when a cell phone started playing "Anyone for Tennis," by Cream. Kale fumbled with his jeans' pocket before picking up his phone.

"Hello? … Oh, hey man, what's goin' on? … Cool… Yeah, I'm jamming with my new band… Bullshit!" He laughed. "Oh fuck you, Marshall, you thought I was going to sit at home crying? We sucked, dude!"

The band stood watching Kale, bemused, as his eyes opened wide at what Marshall was telling him over the phone. "Okay, I'll be over there in five." As he hung up, he looked to his new band mates.

"Sorry, I got stuff I gotta do, I have to go. But same time next week?"

"Kaleb!" Katie yelled. "You can't do that, you're not allowed to cut out early on such short notice! And plus, I don't want to leave yet!"

Kale shook his head. "Sorry guys, but this is kind of an emergency… And Kate, well, I got the wheels, dude, so if you want to walk home, that's all good with me." He began to walk to towards his car.

Katie stamped her foot in frustration. "Guys, I'm sorry, this won't happen again, I promise." And with that, she hurried after her brother.

"Bye Kale!" said Marta, lifting her head to watch him leave.

"Well," said Zack after the junker had left, "that was a pretty awesome practice for your first time, eh Sum?"

Summer couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, I was pretty surprised, to tell you the truth."

Lawrence nodded in agreement as well. Neither Freddy nor Marta said anything, however. It seemed that once Kale left, Marta's attention had turned back to the boy she was seeing. Summer cleared her throat, trying to get the couple's attention, but it was nothing doing.

"God, get a room, you two," Zack said, staring.

Marta pulled up, laughing cheekily. "We'll be in the backyard, okay?"

Freddy just laughed. Summer grimaced as she realized he was walking hunched over as they left the garage. "Ew."

"They're fairly boisterous, those two," commented Lawrence while he pulled apart his keyboard.

"You said it, dude." Zack nodded.

As if right on cue, the Tsai's sedan pulled up in front of the Mooneyham's house, and after saying good-bye, Lawrence took his keyboard, got into the car, and left.

The following awkward silence was broken by Summer. "You did really awesome with Dewey's solo, Zack." He smiled. "I mean," she continued, "I would have taken it, but I wanted you to feel important and all."

He laughed. "Well, thanks for your honesty and consideration, Tinkerbell."

All she could do was smile as she looked up at him. She had always known he was tall, but it was only now that she realized Zack was at least five inches taller than her.

"Is practice over?" came a voice from the front of the garage. Summer turned around to see her favourite person in the whole world.

"Eleni! What are you doing here?" Zack asked, as he went to go give her a hug.

"Mmm… I just came over to visit! I'm allowed, right, Tink?"

"Summer," the girl replied, eyes closed, head tilted to the ceiling. "It's Summer."

Eleni shrugged as she grabbed hold of Zack's hand. "So," she asked him, "what are your plans for the evening?"

"I don't know," was his reply. "Why?"

"Oh… Just wondering," she said coyly. "I was thinking maybe we could do something… Just the two of us… Something romantic, intimate, you know…" Her hand began to crawl up Zack's arm.

"Oh, for God's sake, let me out of the fricking room before you start feeling him up, would you?" Summer said in anger.

It seemed to be exactly what Eleni wanted. "Why do you always act so jealous whenever you see me and my boyfriend together, Tink? I mean, it's a good thing you look the way you do, or else I'd have to believe I had some competition, or something."

"Whatever, you're such a ho," was Summer's weak, but bitter, reply. Both Zack and Eleni's jaws dropped. She flipped Eleni off as she turned around to go out the back door to grab Marta.

Summer's best friend, along with Freddy were doing what they did best, making out quite passionately, when Summer came to break them up. "We're getting out of here, now. Meet me in five minutes at the corner of Brale and Downsworth. I'll let you finish up." Before either of the couple had time to reply, Summer marched right back into the garage to collect her guitar.

When she went in there, however, Zack was waiting for her, without Eleni.

He looked her straight in the eye. "Why are you such a bitch to her?"

Summer knew she couldn't answer the question truthfully without making things extremely complicated. "I think the question here, is why do you let her boss you around? Have you ever noticed how passive you are around her? Like, she could do anything to you, and you wouldn't say anything about it. It's like you're her pet or something."

Zack shook his head, taking his time to reply. "Listen, Tinkerbell, you're my friend, but Eleni's my girlfriend, and you need to show her respect."

Summer couldn't believe she was hearing this. "Don't listen to me then. If Eleni means that much more to you than your friends do, than just listen to whatever the hell she tells you." Summer threw her hands up in the air. "It's not like I care, anyway. Do whatever you want, Mooneyham."

Zack's eyes narrowed. "Listen, Summer, you're not my girlfriend you can't--"

"Yeah," she interrupted, "I'm not. I'm quite aware of that." And with that, she picked up her guitar, and began to walk out of the garage.

Before she could make her way out though, Zack got the last word in.

"It's not like you wanted to be my girlfriend, anyway."

* * *

**A/N** - Summer, Summer, Summer... Hard to be mad at her though, Eleni totally provoked her. Stupid Eleni. Next chapter's going to be the bomb, I swear, I've been waiting to write it since the beginning of this story, I hope you guys'll like it... I hope you guys liked _this_ chapter (nevermind something I haven't even written yet). Thanks for reading, guys, and please review!


	14. A Long Time Coming

**Note:** chapter 14 edited! (July 27 04)

Strap in!

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters: they all, along with School of Rock, belong to Mike White and Paramount Pictures, except for Kaleb Brown and Mrs. Teltrin (neither of whom are mentioned in the forthcoming chapter). They're mine. I also own the plot and a couple names, but other than that, nada.****

* * *

Chapter 14 - A Long Time Coming

Pink… Or blue?

Summer looked down at her bathroom counter in confusion. Looking back and forth from two different eye shadows, she realized she had no idea which one to wear. Looking down at her attire, a tan coloured halter dress she had bought especially for the occasion, Summer couldn't tell which colour would coordinate better.

After a couple more minutes of deliberating, Summer sighed and picked up the phone, dialling Marta's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. Can I come over yet?"

Marta paused. "I'm still in a towel… But yeah, come over, you can help me decide what to wear!"

"Awesome. And you need to help me with my make-up. I'll be there in a few."

Summer sighed in relief as she hung up the phone. _Finally… Marta knows make-up better than anyone_.

Summer grabbed all her make-up, a couple different purses, three pairs of shoes and stuck it all in a backpack. She quickly bade her mom goodbye, saying she'd call when she needed to be picked up, slipped on a pair of flip-flops, and scurried over to her best friend's house.

Marta opened the door immediately, and the two made their way down to the basement, Marta's bedroom. There, Summer saw a spread of about seven outfits Marta couldn't decide between.

"Let's get started."

And that they did. The two questioned, reckoned, suggested and argued for forty minutes before everything came together.

"Okay," said Marta, slightly out of breath. "So you think I should wear the black halter with the red ruffled skirt?"

Summer reconsidered. "No, I changed my mind. Try the black shoulder top with the _tan_ ruffled skirt."

"Long sleeved or short sleeved?"

"Short."

"Dark tan or light tan?"

"Umm… Light."

Marta nodded and complied. Summer sat back once her friend tried the outfit on. "Yeah, that's the one."

Marta smiled, looking down at what she was wearing. "Excellent. I'll dress it down a little bit with flip-flops, though."

"Me too," Summer agreed.

"And you're going to wear my green eye shadow, right?" Marta asked.

"That's what we decided. And my black armpit purse."

Marta cackled quietly. "Eleni's going to be _so pissed off_!"

----

Summer looked up at the large house looming in front of them. Music could already be heard coming from inside, and Summer could sense her courage failing. "Marta, maybe we shouldn't do this, I mean, we weren't invited…"

Marta snorted. "Don't be a chicken. Zack's in there, just think of that."

"That doesn't help, Twink," groaned Summer. It had only been three days since their last practice, where Summer had blown up at both Zack and Eleni, but the silence between Summer and the boy of her dreams had been bordering on painful. She tried to catch his eye a couple of times at school, but he just avoided her gaze.

Eleni definitely seemed to know what was behind Summer's anger, and routinely shot her ugly and teasing looks during class.

"Oh, Christ, Summer, either get used to seeing the two of them together, or do something about it," said Marta in exasperation, reading her friend's mind. "You can't sit around like you have been." She looked pointedly at Summer. "I, for one, am going to the party. You can come if you want."

Summer though about her choices for about two seconds before jogging to catch up with Marta. "You'll be fine," her friend assured.

The large oak door stood tall in front of the couple, but Marta didn't hesitate to knock on it, three times. After a few anxious moments of waiting, the door was opened by someone who could only be Eleni's mother.

"Hi, girls!" Mrs. Afflerbach had to practically yell over the loud music. "You're here for Eleni's birthday?"

Summer smiled sickeningly sweetly, ecstatic at the woman's negligence of the guest list. "Yes, ma'am. Where should we put the presents?" Marta and Summer showed her two hastily wrapped gifts. Mrs. Afflerbach didn't seem to notice, though, as she pointed to a room off of the main hallway. "Right in there, sweetums, and then after you do that, everyone's downstairs!"

The girls smiled in thanks as they quickly threw their presents into the side room, and made their way down the stairs.

"This," said Marta, "is going to be _awesome_."

And with that, the girls stepped onto the landing.

The scene was hard to take in - there was so much going on. Some people were dancing to the extremely loud rap music, while some were sitting in front of a big screen TV, playing video games. Others, still, were loitering around a pool table which had been covered with a pink tablecloth and tonnes of snack foods and drinks.

"Hey!" exclaimed Freddy as he spotted the girls from his position playing "Gran Turismo 3." He quickly paused the game and made his way over to the pair. "I'm glad you guys came," he said, picking Marta up off the ground into a hug.

"Well, if it hadn't have been for you, Freddy…" Summer started, but was stopped when she realized her voice had turned the heads of her other band mates.

The band rushed over to the three by the stairs, all exclaiming, in turn, their happiness at Summer and Marta's arrival. The only one who didn't say anything stood on the edge of the group, looking at the ground: Zack.

He's not saying anything at all… Summer looked at him sadly. It was like torture, really: he was wearing another golf shirt. This time, though, it was a bold shade of pink, yet another one of Summer's little innocent fetishes. He wore simple black jeans, and his Converse high tops on his feet.

The group's happy babbling quickly quieted down, however. Summer, confused, turned her head to see what was gong on. Alas -

"What… the _hell_… are _those two_ doing here?" Eleni asked through gritted teeth as she walked out of what looked to be a bathroom, fists clenched.

She didn't wait for an answer as she pushed Lawrence out of the way and stepped right up to the couple. "You weren't invited."

"Funny thing, _'Leni_," Marta started off, sarcastically acting buddy-buddy with the birthday girl, "Summer and I, we have these things called 'friends.' They're like what Michelle is to you, except our parents don't pay them off."

Eleni's mouth hung open. "Why, you litt--"

"Anyway," Marta went on as if Eleni had never opened her mouth, "your lovely invitation was, how do I put it… _Extended_ to us."

Eleni's eyes were shut in frustration. "You two better get out of my sight _and_ this house within the next ten seconds, or I'll--"

"'Len, don't worry about it. What can they do? Just let them stay."

Summer tried to hide the goofy feeling of happiness welling up inside her. _Zack just stood up for us!_

The frown on Eleni's face deepened, but she didn't say anything in reply to Zack. Instead, she turned to Marta and Summer, her eyes shooting daggers at both of them. "If you two so much as annoy my _pet gerbil_, you'll be out of here before you can say 'whipped.'" She finished her threat looking pointedly at Summer.

Marta scoffed. "We brought presents, calm down."

----

"I'm bored," said Marta rambunctiously.

Summer laughed: she, herself, had been fairly quiet all evening, hanging out with either Katie and Lawrence or Freddy and Marta. Her friend, on the other hand, really had it on her agenda to crash the party. She had been complaining loud enough for Eleni to hear all night.

Gordon and Frankie, of all people, nodded and mumbled their agreement. Eleni sat back and pouted. "Well, then, what do you guys want to do?" she asked as Zack's arm found its way around her shoulder.

Summer's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything.

"I think I know," said Alicia, pausing the video game she was playing with Billy and Frankie. "How about 'Spin the Bottle?'"

Eleni's face clouded over, but she couldn't open her mouth to deny the request quick enough, as Freddy and Marta both exclaimed enthusiastically. "Yes!"

Summer's face fell. "I don't know about this, guys," she said slowly.

"I agree," said Billy. "I'm not playing."

Katie looked at Summer. "C'mon, Tink, it'll be fun!"

Marta clapped her hands. "I love it. Big circle, everyone, I'll go find a bottle."

Most of the class got up eagerly and made a circle on what had been the dance floor. Billy, however, sat adamantly at the video game console, while Summer and Eleni, though neither would admit it, were both having the same hesitant feelings, even though they sat down with the rest of the class.

Marta came into the room with an empty glass Coke bottle. "Well, Alicia Jane Allen, this has to be one of your best ideas, ever."

Alicia nodded, but didn't look at Marta. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide. "Oh my God, I have an ever better idea. You guys ever heard of 'Seven Minutes in Heaven?'"

A look of recognition crossed everyone's face. "I thought it was 'Seven _Seconds_ in Heaven…'" said Michelle.

Alicia shrugged. "I've heard both… But 'Minutes' is a lot more fun, don'tcha think?"

Katie was squirming with excitement. Following her gaze, Summer noticed the bassist's eyes kept darting over to Freddy.

Marta started to smile. "Well… If there are no objections, let's get started!" She tore the Coke label off the bottle and ripped it into pieces, and grabbed an empty bowl. "All the girls' names into this bowl."

Marta handed around the pieces of paper, and one by one, the girls put their names into the abandoned chip bowl. Once six slips of paper were apparent, Marta smiled, closed her eyes, and picked out a name.

"Summer."

Duh. Of course, Summer thought sarcastically as her stomach plummeted. Truth be told, she wasn't at all comfortable with playing any kissing games. At age fifteen, she had never kissed anyone, and she didn't want her first to be with someone she didn't even like.

"Alright, all the guys in a circle - who's going to… play… with Summer?" Alicia asked with a grin. All the boys, except for Billy, did what they were told, and with a sharp breath, Summer watched the bottle spin, spin, spin, until it stopped, pointing to…

Zack.

CHRIST! It's like a bad, bad, bad, bad, BAD movie.

Marta's mouth was wide open, Zack was looking at his feet, and Eleni looked ready to shoot someone. Summer held in a groan.

"Well, guys, there's the closet, see you in seven," said Alicia with a devilish wink, pushing the couple towards a door down a hallway.

The last thing Summer heard was Eleni. "Are you sure it's not 'Seconds?' That makes way more sense," she protested.

Before Summer could hear any replies, though, the closet door was shut.

Summer looked around. The dark room they had been shoved into was a roomy walk-in closet, and she quickly scampered over to the opposite end as Zack, curling into the fetal position on the floor.

Zack copied her stature. "So…" he said.

"God, this is horrible," was all Summer could say.

"Is it?" Zack asked quietly.

"Yes," she replied shortly. "I can't be in here with you, Mooneyham."

Zack shook his head, obviously holding himself back from saying something.

Summer was feeling far too irritable to tolerate his behaviour. "What? What is it?" she snapped.

"_God_ Summer… _God_. Why do you act as though you hate me? Why is it that you like to act like you don't want to be near me? Why do you see my girlfriend as scum? Why do you think I'm stupid? Why do you--"

"BECAUSE I _LIKE _YOU, OKAY?" Summer shouted, unable to hold it back any longer. "I like you… I like you_ so_ much, Zachary Joseph Mooneyham, and I have since, like, forever!"

Zack was quiet for a moment. "Why did you tell Freddy you didn't, then?"

Summer laughed in her hysterics. "Freddy and I are close, but not that close. I'd never tell him who I liked, especially because it was his best friend."

Zack didn't move. "So… That explains why you don't like Eleni…?"

"Yeah, I'd hope it would."

The closet was silent for a moment. Summer could hear laughter outside. _I don't think I'll ever be able to laugh again_. She let her head roll back and hit the wall behind her.

"You know," Zack began slowly, "I never would have asked Eleni out if I had known that--"

"I don't need your pity, Zack."

Zack shook his head again. "You don't understand." He stood up slowly, making his way over to the other end of the closet, brushing the coats and scarves aside.

He squatted in front of Summer, and hesitantly cupped her face in his hands. _Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God_. Summer tried, unsuccessfully, to mask the fear in her eyes. She noticed the nervousness in his as well.

"Um… Er…Is… Is it al-alright if I--"

Summer cut him off once again. Gulping, she said, "Only if you mean it."

"Well, in that case -"

Oh my Go--

Summer wasn't sure if she ever really felt his lips press into hers. She did, however, feel herself sinking, as if on to a deep, plush pillow. Her lips felt like exploding, and electricity flowed from Zack's lips to her own.

She had no control anymore, and she felt her arms snaking their way around his neck, pulling him closer. Zack, in response, placed his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him once more.

The kiss became more and more passionate. Summer leaned into Zack as if he were her only source of air, and he did the same. The two of them, though, began to feel the need for fresh oxygen, and Summer reluctantly pulled away.

Zack rested his forehead on hers, breathing deeply. "Wow."

Summer gulped for air. "Ditto," she said shakily.

"You know," he said between breaths, "Eleni was starting to get really annoying. You were right about her… Everything you said… I mean, she really tries to control me, and she has Michelle right under her thumb, and everything."

Summer nodded. She summoned all the courage she had. "I have to ask, though - why her?"

Zack shrugged. "It was a rebound thing, once I read what you told Spaz…"

Summer smiled, leaning in to give him another quick kiss. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." And with that, Zack pressed his lips once again onto Summer's.

Summer sighed in happiness as she subconsciously intertwined her fingers into his hair. _I could stay here forever…_

And that was indeed the plan, as Zack didn't seem to foresee an end, either. The couple continued to kiss as Summer thought, _Now I see why Marta likes this so much…_

The door to the closet suddenly opened, but both Zack and Summer were hesitant to pull away. Summer squealed, however, when she saw who the looming figure was.

"Oh… Eleni," Zack said, not completely separating himself from Summer. "Has it been seven minutes already?"

Eleni just stood there, mouth opening and closing like a fish, face extremely red. No sound came out of her mouth, until she finally squeaked, "My… Birthday…"

"Oh yeah," pitched Summer, enjoying every second of torturing Eleni. "Happy birthday."

Eleni could do nothing but gape, look from Zack to Summer, than back to Zack, and gape some more. Summer could hear questioning voices asking, "What's going on?" in the background.

"Are you done?" Zack asked Eleni rather impatiently. "We'll continue on, if you want."

Eleni's eyes seemed to ignite. "Zack Mooneyham, you're just doing this to make me jealous. Well, let me tell you something, if you don't come out here _this instant_…"

Eleni continued to ramble aimlessly. Under his breath, Zack said to Summer, "I get this all the time." And with one quick last look at the girl who had caused Summer so many problems, Zack leaned in to claim Summer's lips once again.

When Zack heard Eleni gasp, he pulled away from Summer, rolled his eyes, reached up and closed the door on Eleni himself.

Summer laughed as Zack turned back to her. He raised his eyebrows up and down comically before asking, "So, how are you?"

"Shut up," was Summer's reply, as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hoping they would be allowed another seven minutes…

* * *

**A/N** - Well, if you guys didn't enjoy that, I'm totally sorry, but I had the time of my life writing it! Hahaha... I'm so happy!! It was another fairly lengthly chapter... Please review, tell me if you enjoyed it as much as I did, and all that, and next chapter will be up soon, I promise!! Thanks so much, guys!


	15. The Good, the Bad, and the Flirty

** Note:** I can't thank you guys enough for the absolutely amazing reviews. I appreciate every single one I get, and I'm so, so, _so_ glad to see that y'all loved chapter 14 as much as I did! I also apologize for the cursing in my story... If it really does bother people, I can work around that! This may not seem sincere though, as **there are a fair few questionable words in this chapter**... So from here on, I'll just put up a warning if there are any bad words and such in a chapter. Okay, on with it!

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters: they all, along with School of Rock, belong to Mike White and Paramount Pictures, except for Kaleb Brown and Mrs. Teltrin (one of whom isn't mentioned in this chapter). They're mine. I also own the plot and a couple names, but other than that, nada.

* * *

**Chapter 15 - The Good, the Bad, and the Flirty**

The door closed behind Summer as she climbed into the Ford Explorer, ready to go to school. Marta seated herself into the front seat before turning around to give her friend an excited smile.

Summer returned it readily. Today was Tuesday, the first day of school since Eleni's party, as Monday had been, to the teens' avail, a non-school day. It was to be the first time she was going to be seen in public with Zack. Her boyfriend.

---------------

"So," said Zack, looking down at the girl in his arms. Ten minutes after Eleni had barged in, he and Summer were both still in the closet. Interrupted only by Marta taking a quick peek ("Ah! Sorry, just wanted to make sure you weren't dead or anything!"), the couple was just sitting, Summer in the boy's lap.

Summer looked up at Zack and gave him a sparkling smile. "So."

"I have a question."

"Shoot."

Zack pretended to be nervous, exaggerating a scared look in his eyes. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Summer smirked as she pulled herself closer to him. "Depends - who's asking?"

"Oh, you know, friend of a friend."

"Right. Well you tell your friend that I've got it in for one guy, and one guy only."

Summer waited for a humorous or sarcastic reply, but it never came. When she looked up at Zack to see why he wasn't talking, she saw him staring straight at her, with a look in his eyes that she couldn't remember him ever using with Eleni.

"Summer Joy Hathaway, will you be my girlfriend?"

Overcome with contentment, Summer found she couldn't answer right away. This is the exact moment I've been waiting for. This is what I've wanted for four or five years! _She looked with fondness at the sincere anxiety in Zack's eyes. "No, Zack, no I won't."_

Zack's face fell in slight disbelief. He looked away from Summer, loosening his grip from around her waist. "Oh."

Summer let him carry on for a couple more seconds before sitting him back down and placing herself in his lap again, facing him.

Zack looked at her questioningly, his expression extremely apprehensive.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but it was just such a stupid_ question!"_

"So…?"

"Of course_ I will!"_

Zack laughed in relief as he latched back on to Summer. "Thank God. For a second there I began to question my charming charisma and handsome good looks." He stood up, bringing Summer with him, and made to open the closet door.

Summer shook her head. "Oh, don't worry, there's no need to doubt those."

---------------

The party hadn't lasted all that long for the members of School of Rock after the couple's little closet scene, though. Eleni had kicked Marta out by the time Summer and Zack came back into the room, and Freddy had followed. Hardly any words had to be exchanged between Summer and the host of the party for Summer to realize that her and her new boyfriend weren't exactly welcome at the Afflerbach's, either.

Katie and Lawrence, the loyal friends that they were, left the party as well. It was still fairly early at that point, though, so everyone made their way over to Freddy's house, where they stayed until midnight, watching movies and eating way too much ice cream.

"Hey Sum?" Marta's inquiry to her attention brought Summer out of her reverie. "Do you think Zack'll be a little bit more affectionate with you than he was with Eleni?"

"I'm not sure," Summer replied to the question that had kept her occupied all weekend long. "I mean, it's not my place to say whether or not he really liked Eleni, but I'd hope that I'm a bit more favourable."

Marta laughed. "Yeah, I think everyone's more favourable than Eleni. Even my mom thinks so," she said, looking to her mom.

Mrs. Hale nodded her head. "I never liked Eleni. You can't read her. And the couple times I've had to drive her somewhere, she never said "Hello" when she got into the car. If there's one thing I don't like--"

"Okay, mom, we asked for a blurb, not the whole novel."

----

Summer looked at her watch and saw she still had ten minutes to get to class. She was alone at her locker: Marta had gone to spend some time with Freddy, which had become routine since the first week of school. Summer smiled as she saw Alicia approach her locker. "Hey."

Alicia looked slightly on guard, but smiled back. "Hey."

Summer didn't know how to put what she wanted to say. "I just wanted to tell you… How do I say this without sounding stupid? …Well, um… thanks? For suggesting 'Seven Minutes in Heaven,' I mean."

Alicia laughed. "No problem. You deserved it, anyway. I mean, you and Zack? Dude, that's been a hell of a long time coming, me and Katie were talking about it while you two were still in the closet."

Summer blushed. "Well, I don't know about that, but thanks."

Alicia winked as she closed her locker and walked away. Summer looked back at her own and smiled. _Alicia and I are cool again… This day seems promising_. She began to collect her books for her first couple classes, hoping to find Zack at his locker before school started, when she realized Zack had come to her. As she went to grab her Math and French books, she felt broad hands come to rest on her shoulders.

"Hello," came Zack's voice from right beside her ear. He leaned in to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

Summer laughed giddily. She turned around to give Zack a proper hug, and put her arms around his neck while he delicately wrapped his around her waist. "Good morning."

He pulled away to look at her. "Well, you look bootyfull this morning!"

Summer blushed and laughed at his pronunciation. "I'm wearing a uniform!"

Zack shrugged. "So? Doesn't mean you can't look hot."

Summer, surprised at Zack's bluntness, slapped him on the shoulder. "Zack! Hush!"

"Oh, you hush! I have something for you!" Summer noticed, for the first time, that a tall, slim gift bag rested on the floor by Zack's feet.

"Ooh, what is it?" she inquired.

"Well," he said while picking up the bag, "when I was at your house that one time, remember, I noticed something in your front garden, so I decided to bring you something else to compliment it." He handed the bag over to Summer.

Summer carefully pushed the single sheet of tissue paper away before gasping quietly. Inside of the flowered gift bag was a single tulip, red and yellow in colour, in a shiny red vase. She looked up at Zack. "It's beautiful! How did you know I loved tulips?"

"I just said I saw them in your front lawn!"

"Oh," said Summer, laughing at her own stupidity. "You must have been really careful carrying this in to school, no water's spilled or anything!"

Zack nodded. "You bet. I carried that thing so carefully, you'd think it was priceless. Which," he added, "it may very well be."

Summer placed the gift carefully at the bottom of her locker before pulling Zack into another hug. "Thank you so much, Zack!"

Zack placed a single kiss on Summer's nose. "No problem, of course."

----

"That had to be the best day of school _ever_," exclaimed Summer as her and Marta made their way down the stairs to Marta's bedroom after school.

Her friend nodded in agreement. "I've never seen Eleni look so sour, but not be able to take it out on anyone!"

Summer sighed as she flopped onto Marta's futon bed. "I know. It was pure bliss for six hours."

"I feel bad for Zack, though," said Marta. "I mean, sitting next to your ex-girlfriend all day has to be a bit awkward, don't you think?"

"Yeah," replied Summer, realizing she had never even thought about it, "I guess you're right. I was too wrapped up in the moment to notice any awkwardness, though."

Marta shrugged as she turned around to open her closet. "Where did you guys disappear to at lunchtime?" she asked over her shoulder, her tone of voice playful.

Summer was appalled at the implication. "Marta Hale! If you guys had even bothered to look for us, we ate outside today! We weren't in the _boy's bathroom_ like some people I know!"

Marta laughed as she continued to rifle through her clothing. "You should try the bathroom some time, it's great fun."

Summer shook her head. "That's kind of dirty, Marta."

"Man…" Marta exclaimed, not listening to Summer anymore, "what am I going to wear tonight?"

"…It's just practice," Summer said, slightly confused.

"So? Doesn't mean I can't look good, does it?"

"Who are you trying to look good for…?" Summer came to a realization. "Is this about Kale?"

"No," said Marta. Summer could tell that her reply was an automatic reaction, and not exactly the truth.

Neither of them said anything for a moment, and the only noise in the room were hangers scraping along the pole in Marta's closet. As Marta began to pull out a pair of worn jeans and a blood red shirt, Summer finally spoke up. "I know it's none of my business, Twink, but I'll take some liberties here, as I'm your best friend." She paused. "I know how much you like Freddy... Well, _liked_ him anyway, and I don't want to see you throw out what you two have, because it's cute and not something you see everyday, for some new guy who's a couple years older and may not even be interested."

Marta sighed. "Thanks, Tink, but really, I don't need your advice. I've got it under control."

----

"Can we stop for a second?"

Everyone stopped playing their respective instruments as Marta called on the band to stop playing their warm-up of "Lady Madonna" by the Beatles.

"What's wrong, hun?" asked Freddy.

Summer couldn't help but feel bad for Freddy when Marta didn't even bother to look at him.

"It's nothing, really," Marta said, her voice rather melodramatic, "I just really need some water, for my voice, you know?"

"Ditto," pitched in Kale, "my throat's going all raw."

"Ohhhhmigosh! Mine too!" Marta, in her attempts to woo Kale, came out sounding like a ten-year-old.

Still, Kale laughed. He turned to Zack. "Dude, where's the H2O? I'll go get some for both of us."

Zack explained his kitchen, and Kale promptly left the room.

"God, Zack, I'm sorry my brother just invited himself in, he's a bit rude. Well… a lot rude," Katie apologized.

"No worries, Katie, he's welcome in here!" Everyone turned to Marta as she talked for Zack. Summer tried to catch her eye to give her a stern look.

Marta didn't catch on. "He's nice, eh? Kale?"

"You certainly seem to think so," shot Freddy from the back of the room.

Marta turned around to look at the drummer. "What are you saying, Freddy?"

"What do you think I'm saying, Marta?" Summer groaned inwardly. She knew Freddy was feeling uncomfortable when he didn't bother beating around the bush or using sarcastic humour, and he certainly didn't seem to want to use either of those tactics.

"I think you're being a paranoid freak, to be honest," shot back Marta.

"Don't get mad at me, here, I didn't do a single thing wrong. You, on the other hand, are parading yourself around as if you were a fucking showgirl."

"It certainly seems one of us is jealous, doesn't it Fredrick?" spat Marta.

"Can you blame me?" Summer's jaw dropped at his sincerity.

Marta opened her mouth to retort, but stopped herself once she saw Kale heading back towards the garage with two glasses of water. "Shut up!" she hissed, then plastered on a smile as the seventeen-year-old walked back in.

"Miss me?" he asked with a smirk.

Marta giggled. "Of course!"

Zack caught Summer's eye, and they simultaneously rolled their own.

"Before we start, did Katie tell you guys about the Halloween party?" Kale asked.

"Do tell, Katie," said Zack.

Katie laughed. "Oh, well, the parentals are going out for Halloween, and they're leaving me and Kale alone at home, so he's having some friends over, and I'm allowed to invite you guys! Interested?"

Summer got excited, and nodded her head vigorously along with the rest of the band. Katie smiled. "Awesome! I mean, we'll talk about it more later… It's a costume party, that's all we really know."

"Just so long as you guys don't get in the way of my friends, it would be awesome if you were all there," said Kale casually.

"Kaleb! You're such a jerk!" cried Katie, face screwing up in indignation.

He shrugged as he picked up his mic once more. "So… From the top?"

----

"It seems we're always the last ones left, doesn't it?" Zack said as they waved goodbye to Katie and Kale after their practice had ended. Lawrence had left five minutes earlier.

Summer laughed. "Yeah, kinda."

"Can we go now?" Marta asked with a tinge of impatience.

"Not until my dad gets here, Twink," said Summer coaxingly.

"We need to talk, Marta," suggested Freddy and he turned to his girlfriend.

"No we don't. I don't want to talk to you right now, Fredrick." Marta crossed her arms and immaturely turned to face the wall.

Freddy grunted in frustration. "Why are you being like this? What the fuck's up with you? And why am _I_ in trouble?"

"We'll be outside," called Zack over the commotion as he took Summer by the hand and pulled her into the backyard.

"God," groaned Summer walking along with Zack, "that's getting really bad, I should be in there trying to stop them."

"Hey, they're fifteen, they should be old enough to figure it out," said Zack.

Summer sighed as she sat in the grass. "I guess… But if voices start to raise, I'm going in."

"Understandable," returned Zack as he sat down beside Summer. "So, are you excited for that Halloween party?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Summer. "It's still a month away, but whatever, it's exciting. What do you think you'll go dressed as?"

"I'm not sure," answered Zack. "Maybe Bigfoot."

Summer raised a single eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"So I won't get in trouble… FOR TACKLING PEOPLE RANDOMLY!" he yelled as he indeed tackled Summer to the ground.

"Zack Mooneyham! That's the stupidest and most non-funny thing you've ever done!" she cried between laughs.

They were quiet as Zack rested on his side beside Summer. "You know," he said, voice turning serious, "it took me forever to get used to going everywhere with Eleni… For me to be associated with her automatically. But with you," he said, pausing to pull her hair as if they were five, "with you, I felt comfortable right away."

Summer's eyes widened. "…That's a good thing, right?"

"Summer!" Zack said in playful exasperation. "Leave it to _my_ girlfriend to ruin a moment!"

"Hey, lovebirds, break it up," came Marta's irritable voice. "Your mom's here, Summer."

Summer stood up hastily, feeling guilty for not paying attention to her friend's situation. She quickly said goodbye to Zack, and made her way to retrieve her guitar. In the garage, she saw Freddy sitting on his drum stool, head resting back against the wall. "Bye Freddy," she said softly.

"See ya," he said, not looking at her.

"Don't say goodbye to him, he's an immature, jealous loser, Summer."

Summer shook her head as she quickly pushed her friend out of the garage, preparing to calm her down, and hoping that Zack would do the same with Freddy. She always had to do everything.

* * *

**A/N** - I really hope that was alright, I didn't exactly know how well this would follow up to the bliss that was the closet scene... Oh, closet scenes... I don't know if I'm moving too fast with the Zack/Summer relationship, so if I am, please review and tell me! And if not... Well, review anyway! I appreciate everyone reading, as well as reviewing, so thank you guys so much!


	16. Boom

**Note:** Okay, this was a rash decision, and I'm sorry for the suddeness of it all, but because of vacation plans made by the parentals that _were not_ shared with Jessica, **this is the last chapter of "You Never Know."** It isn't far off from where I was planning to end it, and what I was planning will definitely be included in the sequel. I won't be back until midway through August, so I'm expecting to have four or five chapters of the sequel for you guys.

I want to thank each and every reader and reviewer for all their support and criticism, and for even bothering to read my story! This was my first fic, and I don't think it could have turned out much better. I'll stop talking before this becomes too "Halle Berry Oscar Award Acceptancey," but really, I know everyone says it, but it means a whole lot to me, all of it!!

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters: they all, along with School of Rock, belong to Mike White and Paramount Pictures, except for Kaleb Brown and Mrs. Teltrin (one of whom isn't mentioned in this chapter). They're mine. I also own the plot and a couple names, but other than that, nada. I also do not own (obviously) Christina Aguilera, The Osbournes, or Kurt Cobain/Nirvana. I'm sure you all needed that to be cleared up.

* * *

**Chapter 16 - Boom**

The following month flew by for Summer in a flash of band practice and schoolwork. School of Rock had finally found its groove with its two new members, and the slow process of selecting songs for the Christmas dance had finally begun.

Kale turned out to be an amazing vocalist. His only problem, it seemed, was his attitude that the band wasn't serious. Katie had yelled at him numerous times at practices to "smarten the hell up" when he'd go off on insignificant rants or refuse to turn off his cell phone during jam time. Summer sensed an implication that since Kale was a couple of years older, he didn't have to try as hard. She found it quite taxing, while Marta found it endearing.

Freddy and Marta were still together. It seemed to a be a silent agreement between the two that they wouldn't mention their fight ever again, and just resume life as normal. Things weren't the same, though, everyone had noticed. The couple was always a lot stiffer when they talked to each other, and there was no longer the endless cuddling there used to be.

Marta had finally admitted to Summer that she thought Kale was gorgeous, which, of course, came as no surprise to the band's guitarist, but she also said that she had promised herself that she would stay with Freddy.

Summer had always been sure that the couple staying together was the way to go, but just by the way the two acted around each other, and the hateful glares Freddy was always shooting at Kale, gave Summer the idea that maybe something _should_ happen.

So, before anyone knew it, Halloween had arrived, and it was high time to start getting ready for Katie's party.

Summer came out of the bathroom, towel in her hair, and pulled her costume out of the closet. She and Zack had decided a couple weeks ago that they'd go to the music-themed Halloween party as a couple. They didn't, however, want to dress as something overdone, like dead kings and queens, so they pooled their ideas and had finally come up with the perfect solution: The Osbournes.

Summer smiled as she looked down at her leather blazer and long red skirt. She smiled as she pulled her short wig off of her mannequin head. She smiled as she slipped on the numerous rings and bracelets and the single necklace she would be wearing.

She laughed hysterically when she looked into the mirror and realized how much she _didn't_ look like Sharon Osbourne.

Summer shrugged to herself as she got up off of her chair, and quickly made her way downstairs, without tripping over her skirt, to wait for Marta.

----

"Hey guys! We've been waiting," exclaimed Katie in a happy tone as she opened the door for the pair. Dressed as what could only be a mangled Christina Aguilera (_Very creative_, Summer thought hotly), the co-hostess of the party gave Marta and Summer's costumes the once-over. A look of recognition came across her face. "Well, _Shar_, your hubby's already here," she addressed Summer with a grin. As she took in Marta's rendition of Courtney Love (inflatable lips and all), though, the grin vanished. "Your… _boyfriend_ is inside, Marta."

"Thanks Katie!" said Summer in anticipation before Marta could say anything about Katie's vindictive tone. As they stepped into the house, Summer took in the elaborate decorations.

"Holy crap," Marta said simply.

In essence, there wasn't a square foot of wall that wasn't covered in some sort of Halloween garb. The music was thumping, and it felt as though the bass was cutting right through Summer. To her slight disappointment, it sounded as though the play list was going to be heavily rock dominated.

"I'm going to go look for Zack, want to come?" Summer asked Marta, who was still taking in the decorations.

Marta turned to Summer, obviously thinking the offer through. "Nah… I should go find Freddy…"

Summer frowned, but didn't say anything as her friend walked away. It was getting harder and harder to swallow Marta's strained attempts at keeping her relationship intact, and she had a feeling Marta felt the same.

Summer watched Marta's retreating back disappear before setting off to find her own boyfriend. _It's going to be pretty hard if I can't even see two feet in front of me_. It seemed to her as though Kale had invited the whole state of New York to the party. Summer jostled in and out of bodies much taller than her. After skittering around the dancing teens (and receiving two invitations to "get her groove on") for five minutes, she found a couple of her shorter, younger friends.

"Hey guys," Summer said as she approached Marta and Freddy, who had donned a sweater vest and toque to look like Kurt Cobain. "Where is everyone?"

"Well, Lawrence isn't coming," Freddy started, "Katie's up front opening the door, and Ozzy's over at the food table."

Summer smiled both at the mentioning of Zack, and at Marta's hand being held possessively by Freddy. She looked to her left, and sure enough, a boy in a long wig and all black clothing was filling a plate with a little bit of everything. "I'll see you guys in a bit," she said as she carefully stepped around even more people to get to Zack.

She didn't even have to be quiet as she snuck up on him, the music was so loud. Nevertheless, Summer tiptoed behind Zack, slipping her hands around his temporarily glasses-covered eyes.

Zack gave a start, dropping his plate onto the table. Summer couldn't help but laugh, and as she did so, she felt him relax.

"Now who on earth could this be?" he wondered aloud.

Summer giggled. "Guess."

"If I must. Hmm…" Zack started to feel Summer's hands, tickling her wrists. He walked his fingers along her arms, up to her elbows, where he pulled on her skin.

"Ew, Zack!" He knew that she hated when he did that.

He just laughed. "I think… I think this is Summer." Summer was about to congratulate him when he continued. "Wait -" He reached around Summer and placed a firm hold on her behind. "Yeah, it's Summer."

Summer shrieked. "Zachary Joseph, you're a pig! Someone could have seen that!"

Zack just smiled at the weak look of frustration on her face. "Take a look at these people, Sum. Grabbing people's bumbums is probably an everyday thing for them."

Summer snorted, but didn't disagree. She took Zack's offending appendage off of her posterior and held his hand in her own. "Having fun so far?"

Zack shrugged. "Meh. It hasn't been much. It was just me, Spaz and Posh until you showed up. Everyone else couldn't care less about us."

"True," Summer agreed as Zack picked up his plate. They made their way over to Marta and Freddy, who, through some miracle, had snagged an empty couch.

No sooner had Summer sat down than Katie came up to join them. "Christ," she said, brushing straw-like blonde and black strands of hair from her eyes. "It's like an endless parade of idiots coming in…" She trailed off, glancing hurriedly at a particularly loud and exuberant group of people.

"Why don't _we_ dance?" Marta asked suddenly.

"Great idea," grinned Freddy, standing up and offering a hand to her. "Would you do me the honour?"

Marta shrugged. "Okay," she said, taking Freddy's hand as they went off to look for an empty spot on the floor.

Katie heard the doorbell ring again. "Fuck! Go away," she cried as she shot up to go get the door.

Zack put his arm around Summer, a clear sign he was slightly wary of what he was about to say. "Marta's being a bit… well, mean to Freddy, don't you think?"

"Mean? She's being a right old bitch!"

Zack laughed in relief. "Yeah, I was playing it down."

"This 'fresh meat' idea is hard for her to handle." Summer sighed. "I can tell she really cares for Freddy, but she told me herself being with someone long-term makes her feel lame."

"Well, she's making Freddy feel lame, that's for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if he's cried a couple times when I think about the conversations we've had."

Summer didn't say anything for a moment, snuggling up to Zack. "Shit." _I can't picture Freddy crying. Over a girl, to boot_. "Something's got to happen. It's been retarded like this for a month."

Zack nodded in agreement. "We need to get them to…" His voice faltered as he saw the couple of conversation approaching them, Freddy looking low, Marta, bored.

Freddy dropped himself onto the couch, posture forgotten. Marta hesitated to sit down. "I'll… I'll be back."

Summer, on instinct, waited ten seconds before getting up and following Marta, to neither of the boy's disagreement. Zack seemed to understand, while Freddy wasn't even paying attention.

I should be getting paid for this, thought Summer contemptuously, as she was just barely able to keep track of Marta in the thick crowd.

As they reached the other side of the mob, Summer reached way out to grab Marta's shoulder.

Marta blushed as she realized Summer had followed her. "I said I'd be right back," she mumbled.

Summer rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap, Marta, this past _month_ has been unbearable, and tonight's been even worse. What are you doing?"

Marta's form went rigid in defence. "Listen. Tink, I love you, and I'm so glad you're my best friend. But there's something I've got to do, _on my own_. Please, just trust me?"

Summer sighed in defeat. _I have to trust her, she's my best friend_. "Fine. Just… Don't hurt anyone, okay?" she asked pleadingly, obviously by "anyone," meaning Freddy.

Marta patted Summer on the shoulder. "Go back to Ozzy, Tink, I'll be back in a bit."

Summer watched her walk away. Quickly, Marta shouted over her shoulder, "I just need an answer!"

Summer was halfway back to the couch when she began to put two and two together. _"An answer…?" Answer to what?_ Stopping in her tracks, Summer realized what Marta was doing. "Twinkle!" she groaned, promptly turning around.

----

Why is it that when you're in the biggest hurry, there's always the largest traffic jam? Summer though in disgruntlement. Giving up on being polite (_…because these people certainly aren't_), she began to push her way through the hordes of people. _Ridiculous_.

After five minutes of searching, Summer hadn't made much progress. Katie and Kale lived with their mom (their dad was dead) in a house that was a fair size. It wasn't, however, large enough for all the people that had been invited that night.

Summer grunted as she pushed her way into a less crowded hallway. She began stomping her way down, peeking into each room on her way. Just as she was about to turn around and pull her hair out in annoyance, something in one of the last rooms caught her eye. She quickly sidled up to the wall beside the slightly opened door and listened.

"…Yeah, I'm having a lot of fun!" It was Marta.

"Good! I'm glad." And Kale. "Who are you here with?"

"The band, but I ditched them, they're way immature!"

Immature?

Summer heard Kale laugh. "How about Freddy?"

Summer inwardly prayed to the heavens as she awaited Marta's answer. _I trust you, girl, I trust you…_

"He's so annoying, totally not the guy I should be with."

MARTA! Summer listened in horror to Marta's shameless flirting, and was even more appalled that Kale was going along with it.

"Hey Tink, whatcha doin'?"

Summer held back a scream as she turned around to face Freddy. _Jesus, of _all _people! My life really is like a bad movie_, she thought as she put a finger to her lips, trying to push him back and out of the hallway.

Freddy was persistent, though. "What are you listening… to…"

Shit shit shit shit shit.

Too late.

Freddy stood, transfixed and unaffected by Summer's pushing. He wouldn't stop looking at the open door. Summer couldn't hear any talking. _They must've seen Freddy or me_.

To Summer's abomination, though, neither Marta nor Kale had seen either of the two eavesdroppers. They both seemed quite comfortable with the situation, kissing intently on the bed in their chosen room.

It was all Summer could do to look at Freddy. He hadn't taken his eyes off of Marta, his mouth slightly open, and an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Freddy," Summer whispered, eyes dropping to the floor. "I followed her to find out where she was going, and this is what I found."

He didn't say anything. He just shook his head.

Movement in the bedroom caught Summer's eye. "Well," said Marta breathlessly, "I guess that solves my problem!"

Freddy finally spoke up. "And mine."

A look of terror swept across Marta's face as she whipped around to see her boyfriend and best friend watching her. She quickly climbed off the bed. "Freddy…"

"Don't 'Freddy' me." He kept staring, his face now blank. "I can't believe this. This was your last chance, Marta. I guess it didn't matter. Good luck with Kale."

Freddy turned to Summer. "Bye Tink." Summer shivered as Freddy gave her a short, but tight hug. She held back gasps and tears when she realized Freddy was wiping his own behind her back.

And with that, Freddy pulled back, and made for the front door, getting lost in the array of people.

Summer turned back to Marta. Her expression suggested she was ready to die. She slowly slid down to the floor, curling up into a ball and crying silently.

Even though she was slightly upset at her friend, Summer went to Marta and sat down with her, rubbing her back.

"I thought I wanted this, I really did. But I don't, Summer, I don't. I didn't want this. This isn't how it's supposed to be," she whispered, not able to raise her voice any louder.

"I know," was Summer's short reply.

"I can't believe I did this. I can't believe it."

"Hun, what can you do? You made a decision. I tried to tell you…"

"I know. You can say it any time now. Where is it? '_I told you so_.' I deserve it."

Summer thought longingly about shoving it in her friend's face, the same friend that had just called her "immature," and one of her good friends "annoying." But instead, Summer did what she knew she should. "I think you should tell Kale you made a mistake."

Without saying anything, Marta wiped her tears and rolled out of the ball. "Kale," she said as she got up.

No response.

"Kale," she said with a bit more force. "What aren't you answering me?"

Summer couldn't believe it. "He's asleep."

"WHAT THE HELL?" Marta's eyes widened hysterically. "I don't think so! _Wake up, Kale_!" She shook him hard, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him every which way.

Slowly, Kale's eyes opened. When he saw the two girls staring at him accusingly, he laughed. "Dude, I am _so_ tanked right now. What just happened?"

----

Summer entered Marta's room, this time with a box of tissues. Her friend had already changed into her pyjamas and was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Summer put the tissue box on Marta's bedside table, and lovingly tucked Marta in under the covers, even though it was obvious she wouldn't be sleeping that night. "I'm going to set up my sleeping bag right here, okay, Marta? Right at the end of the bed, so if you need to talk, I'll listen."

Marta nodded, but didn't reply. Summer kissed her forehead, and went to climb into her sleeping bag.

The last couple months had been a whirlwind of emotions. Frustration, Love, Hatred, Stress, Happiness and Pity had marked each and every day of her life for the past while.

Summer turned over and reached into her bag. She found a pen under Marta's bed, and began to write.

_Dear Diary,_

_Well, if the next two months are anything like the past two, I'm in for a hell of a ride. I guess you never know, do you?_

_See ya, Summer._

_

* * *

_**A/N** - Again, I'm sorry for the abrupt ending, and the semi-unfinished ideas, but I promise, they'll be the first to be addressed in the sequel!! I did all my thankies at the top, so I won't waste your time with more, but really, thank you so much!! I'll be back soon! 


End file.
